https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/
enFri, 22 Feb 2019 16:29:21 +0100Wed, 20 Feb 2019 12:25:23 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/clients/150_1369.pnghttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/
144UK may struggle to maintain influence at the UN after Brexit, study findshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/un-after-brexit/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/un-after-brexit/The UK needs to demonstrate its added value to the United Nations and adopt a principled and values-driven foreign policy if it is to maintain its current influence after it leaves the EU, according to a report released by the United Nations Association.
]]>The UK needs to demonstrate its added value to the United Nations and adopt a principled and values-driven foreign policy if it is to maintain its current influence after it leaves the EU, according to a report released by the United Nations Association.

The report is the outcome of a research project by academics from the Universities of Manchester, Leeds and Southampton on behalf of the United Nations Association, funded by the British Academy.

The researchers interviewed 29 participants, including UN diplomats, UK officials and individuals from non-governmental organisations. They found that the UK faces considerable challenges in maintaining its current level of influence once it has exited the EU.

The UK’s current record in the UN is mixed - it takes a strong role in drafting resolutions and agenda-setting and is generally seen as a skilled negotiator in the UN Security Council, but we have very little influence on the General Assembly.

Crucially, the report found that Brexit will cause British diplomats to lose political capital, because they are less able to align their campaigns in the Security Council and the General Assembly with the influence of their colleagues in Brussels.

Interviewees said that if it were not for the UK’s continued commitment to spending 0.7% of its Gross National Income on Official Development Assistance, its reputation would be ‘free fall territory’. Nevertheless, they said that the decline in UK influence is palpable.

The report suggests that the impact of Brexit can be offset and the UK’s influence maintained if the UK invests in multilateralism and provides clear principled, values-driven leadership. Its recommendations include:

- Specific policy ideas and resources from London, demonstrating the value of the UK in international forums
- Addressing gaps in diplomatic capacity at the General Assembly, which will develop as the UK is no longer able to rely on EU for burden sharing and support
- Maintaining resolutely the UK’s 0.7% commitment to foreign aid – a major source of soft power and influence

“Our project shows that the impacts of Brexit go beyond the UK and the EU to the UN, where the UK’s reputation is tarnished and its capacity for influence is weakened,” said lead author Dr Jess Gifkins from The University of Manchester.

“This report provides an evidence base for what we have long argued,” said Angie Pankhania, Deputy Director of United Nations Association UK. “It is absolutely possible for the UK to be an influential player in international forums such as the United Nations, but it requires a principled and consistent approach. The UK cannot cherry-pick its favourite bits of multilateralism - it must invest in the health of the system as a whole.”

]]>headlines,humanities,environment-education-developmentWed, 20 Feb 2019 10:32:49 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_150511917025-20170912-271870.jpg?10000‘Hostile Environment’ NHS policies are failing refugees and asylum seekershttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/hostile-environment-nhs-policies/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/hostile-environment-nhs-policies/There is mounting concern that these changes will make vulnerable migrants’ access to these services more difficult, but no research had documented their real-life experiences until now.
]]>A new study by researchers from The University of Manchester has found that government policy changes aimed at decreasing immigration have made health services difficult to access for refugees and asylum seekers, which is likely to have significant effects on their health.

In 2012, the coalition government began to restrict entitlement to NHS services for asylum seekers and refugees as part of its controversial ‘Hostile Environment’ policy, which aims to decrease net migration to the UK. Charging for healthcare was also extended in 2017, and costs must now be paid before treatment. Although GP services remain free, charges now apply to community services allied to primary care and non-emergency hospital care.

There is mounting concern that these changes will make vulnerable migrants’ access to these services more difficult, but no research had documented their real-life experiences until now.

Interviews conducted with asylum seekers and refugees revealed that health services are difficult to navigate and negotiate. The research participants also reported instances of discrimination and racism, and discussed the burden placed on them by the costs of travel, prescriptions and dental treatment.

The findings did identify examples of good practice in primary care, with positive experiences of medical consultations, but they found that longer appointments were often needed because of the complex problems involved, and pointed to the need for effective interpretation services.

The researchers are calling for new and better ways to improve asylum seekers and refugees’ access to NHS services, in order to address health inequalities faced by this group.

“By centralising the voices of asylum seekers and refugees and illustrating the negative consequences of poor healthcare access, our study urges consideration of how access to primary care in the UK can be enhanced for often marginalised individuals with complex needs,” said Dr Louise Tomkow.

]]>headlines,social-science,humanitiesTue, 12 Feb 2019 08:30:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_woman-3187087-960-720-929292.jpg?10000Manchester contributes to major WHO report into age-friendly citieshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/major-who-report/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/major-who-report/Case studies from 11 cities working to make their environments better places in which to grow older have been included in a major new report from the World Health Organization (WHO), which looks back over a decade of action on age-friendly cities and communities, and examines what the priorities should be over the next ten years.
]]>Case studies from 11 cities working to make their environments better places in which to grow older have been included in a major new report from the World Health Organization (WHO), which looks back over a decade of action on age-friendly cities and communities, and examines what the priorities should be over the next ten years.

The WHO Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities was established in 2010 to connect cities, communities and organisations around the world with the common vision of making their communities a great place to grow old in. As a response to global population ageing and rapid urbanisation, it focuses on action at a local level which ensures the full participation of older people in community life and promotes healthy and active ageing.

Cities and communities within the Network have undertaken many important steps over the last ten years. The case studies, which were developed in partnership with a research team from the The University of Manchester’s Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing (MICRA), feature cities and communities within the Network sharing their local experience in developing age-friendly environments through political engagement, understanding the situation, developing a strategy and action plan, and evaluating outcomes. They describe their local context, their challenges and successes, and achievements to date.

The cities looked at include Brussels, Hong Kong, Portland (USA), Ottowa (Canada) and Manchester. Manchester’s case study assesses the success of the city’s Age-Friendly Manchester programme, and the initiatives it has worked on including the Culture Programme - which brought together museums, orchestras, theatres and arts organisations with the aim of increasing access for older people - and the Take a Seat campaign, which aimed to raise awareness about how older people may struggle with a lack of available seating in shops and other public spaces.

“This is a really important programme - for ageing cities to understand what is possible, and what can be achieved in improving the wellbeing of older people in an urban environment,” said Professor Debora Price, Director of the Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing. “We are privileged to have both civic leadership and world-leading research in the Manchester Urban Ageing Research Group, committed to understanding inequalities across the lifecourse and in later life, and how to combat them through systemic and environmental change.”

"Working on this report has provided valuable insight into how research can successfully inform effective ‘real-world’ policies and interventions,” said The University of Manchester’s Natalie Cotterell, who co-authored the report. “It emphasises the central role of older people in developing age-friendly environments, and as well as celebrating the achievements of the Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Initiative, it outlines a vision for the future, ensuring that the age-friendly network continues to grow.”

“The report represents a valuable addition to our knowledge about interventions which can support older populations living in urban communities around the world,” said Professor of Gerontology Chris Phillipson from The University of Manchester. “The case studies highlighted illustrate the value of developing partnerships across a range of groups working within cities, as well as the central role played by older people in developing age-friendly environments.”

“This report is a significant contribution to our knowledge and understanding of how pioneering municipalities have made progress against their ambitions to create age-friendly cities,” said Paul McGarry, Head of Greater Manchester Ageing Hub. “The report charts the challenges that the international age-friendly movement has faced and their successes, many of which feature the leading role of older people in these transformative initiatives.”

“It has been a pleasure to work with the University of Manchester on these case studies,” said Alana Officer, Senior Health Adviser at the World Health Organization. “The report and case studies will provide key inputs into the development of the 2020-2030 Decade of Healthy Ageing.”

]]>headlines,humanities,social-scienceMon, 04 Feb 2019 12:21:45 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_whoreport-530255.jpg?10000Broad regional accents are a barrier to social mobility, research findshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/broad-regional-accents-social-mobility/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/broad-regional-accents-social-mobility/Many people aspire to improve their lives through gaining promotion at work, new qualifications or starting a new career. However, research by academics from The University of Manchester and the University of Bath has found that broad regional accents can be a barrier to social mobility, as they are less favoured by some people.
]]>Many people aspire to improve their lives through gaining promotion at work, new qualifications or starting a new career. However, research by academics from The University of Manchester and the University of Bath has found that broad regional accents can be a barrier to social mobility, as they are less favoured by some people.

Virtually all newscasters and other television presenters spoke in ‘received pronunciation’ - known as the Queen’s English – until the 1970s. These days, we are far more likely to hear a range of voices on British television, with even BBC News having presenters from Newcastle and other cities with notable regional accents.

However, the issue is less about regional accents as such, but regional varieties deemed to be ‘broad’ – as opposed to ‘general’ or ‘neutral’ varieties of the same accent. This perception of broadness is partly based on reduced forms of speech – for example, the word Saturday said with a broad Mancunian accent will sound more like ‘sa-di’. Thus, we can still sound regional in the workplace, but not too regional.

The researchers wanted to find out whether or not people still felt as though they needed to moderate accents deemed to suggest working-class roots in order to succeed in their careers. The research team sought the perspective of teachers from across the country, to find out whether accent in Britain is still a potent force in terms of how people are judged.

“Even today, broad accents are less favoured,” said Dr. Alex Baratta of The University of Manchester. “Many teachers are told - or feel a need - to modify their accents in order to be perceived more professionally. In one example, a teacher from Bristol modified his accent to avoid being perceived as a ‘yokel who lives on a farm’!”

One teacher felt her working-class South London accent signaled to her students that she was authentic, and as a result, more approachable. From her mentor’s point of view, however, it sounded unprofessional. “My mentor was very patronising, and tried everything he could to change my accent,” she explained. “I struggled every day with the feeling that I was not good enough -not good enough to teach, not good enough in the work environment and not good enough to pass the course.”

This is just one example of the mismatch between speaker and listener regarding broad accents in the British workplace, resulting in a potential linguistic tug-of-war.

The researchers recommend that public and private institutions need to be made more aware of the potential to discriminate based on accent when hiring new employees.

]]>headlines,humanities,environment-education-development,topbannerMon, 04 Feb 2019 11:54:33 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_speech-888025.jpg?10000Working mothers up to 40% more stressed, study findshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/working-mothers-up-to-40-more-stressed/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/working-mothers-up-to-40-more-stressed/Biomarkers for chronic stress are 40% higher in women bringing up two children while working full-time, new research has found.
]]>Biomarkers for chronic stress are 40% higher in women bringing up two children while working full-time, new research has found.

Working from home and flexitime have no effect on their level of chronic stress – only putting in fewer hours at work helps, says an article in the journal Sociology.

Professor Tarani Chandola of The University of Manchester, and Dr Cara Booker, Professor Meena Kumari and Professor Michaela Benzeval of the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex analysed data on 6,025 participants in Understanding Society’s UK Household Longitudinal Survey, which collects information on working life and readings of measures of stress response, including hormones levels and blood pressure.

They found that the overall level of 11 biomarkers related to chronic stress, including stress related hormones and blood pressure, was 40% higher if women were working full-time while bringing up two children than it was among women working full-time with no children. Women working full time and bringing up one child had 18% higher level.

They also found that women with two children who worked reduced hours through part-time work, job share and term-time flexible working arrangements had chronic stress levels 37% lower than those working in jobs where flexible work was not available. Those working flexitime or working from home, with no overall reduction in working hours, had no reduction in chronic stress.

The researchers found that men’s chronic stress markers were also lower if they worked reduced hours, and the effect was about the same as for women.

The researchers adjusted the raw data to rule out other influences on their findings, such as the women’s ages, ethnicity, education, occupation and income, so that the influence of working hours and family conditions could be studied in isolation.

“Work-family conflict is associated with increased psychological strain, with higher levels of stress and lower levels of wellbeing,” the researchers say. “Parents of young children are at particular risk of work-family conflict. Working conditions that are not flexible to these family demands, such as long working hours, could adversely impact on a person’s stress reactions.

“Repeated stressful events arising from combinations of social and environmental stressors and major traumatic life events result in chronic stress, which in turn affects health.”
]]>headlines,humanities,social-science,topbannerMon, 28 Jan 2019 10:23:27 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_child-1073638-960-720-415652.jpg?10000Caring for the hills protects us from flooding, says new researchhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/caring-for-the-hills/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/caring-for-the-hills/A restoration scheme on the hills of the Peak District has the potential to reduce the level of flood risk to the towns and villages below, according to researchers.
]]>A restoration scheme on the hills of the Peak District has the potential to reduce the level of flood risk to the towns and villages below, according to researchers.

Professors Tim Allott and Martin Evans and Dr Emma Shuttleworth, from The University of Manchester, say measures taken by conservation group Moors for the Future Partnership reduced peak flows of water from moorland areas.

Moors for the Future Partnership has restored over 32 square kilometres of bare peat since its formation in 2003 through a range of interventions, including stabilising bare peat, and blocking erosion gullies with dams. The measures were put in place to tackle the destructive impact of climate change, pollution, wildfires and unsympathetic management of the land.

But experts also think that sustainable management in the Peak District has the potential to alleviate flood risk downstream in at-risk communities such as Glossop, which was badly affected in 2002.

The study details the findings of the Making Space for Water project, a collaboration between the Manchester researchers and Moors for the Future Partnership. It is published in Journal of Hydrology X, and was funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Using test areas on Kinder Scout, the team that found that re-vegetation of bare peat and damming up gullies reduces the peak volume of flow by 57%, and triples the time between peak rain and peak flow.

​Though this restoration work has been pioneered by Moors for the Future Partnership for over 15 years, the focus has largely been on erosion control and improving biodiversity. The new research shows that flood control can now be added to the many benefits of restoring damaged peatlands. This is an example of natural flood management, which seeks to restore natural river processes that have been adversely affected by human actions.

“Restoration work is happening across many upland areas of the UK, and so our findings suggest that other regions may be benefiting from as yet unaccounted for flood control improvements,” said Professor Allott.

“This work is continuing through our new NERC-funded project, Protect-NFM, which builds on the findings of the paper, and will explore ways to optimise landscape restoration as a low-cost way to reduce the risk from flash flooding in rural communities near steep upland streams and rivers,” added Professor Evans.

“This work presented here is an important step in evidencing how blanket bog conservation reduces flood risk,” said Dr Dave Chandler, Science Programme Manager at Moors for the Future Partnership. “It clearly demonstrates the huge magnitude of this effect in the uplands, confirming our theory that one of the many benefits of repairing damaged blanket bog is a reduction in flow rates from the uplands. It is also an important step in evidencing the key ecosystem services provided by healthy blanket bogs, and the impact of our conservation work for the communities in the valleys below.”

“Peatlands are a fantastic resource and restoration projects have multiple benefits to the environment,” said Christian Wilcox, Area Flood and Coastal Risk Manager for the Environment Agency. “We are pleased to be involved in this study by supporting the team with hydrometric data and advice. We are curious and interested to see what the findings will show in terms of evidence for flood risk reduction and look forward to seeing another example of how natural flood risk management can leave a real legacy of multiple benefits for future generations. Projects such as this that have the potential to deliver habitat, flood risk, and wider health and well-being benefits are always exciting to be a part of.”

]]>headlines,humanities,topbanner,environment-education-developmentMon, 14 Jan 2019 09:00:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_kinderscout1200-716177.jpg?10000Brexit: what do the latest developments in parliament mean for Theresa May?https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/brexit-theresa-may/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/brexit-theresa-may/A cross-parliamentary group of MPs has struck again, landing another major blow against the government ahead of the vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal on January 15. The manoeuvre changes the parliamentary timetable to give the prime minister just three days to come up with a new plan if she loses the vote. This was highly controversial in constitutional terms and the debate was extremely heated. Here’s what it means for the next stage of Brexit.

What does the amendment passed by parliament say?

Since the meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal was delayed in December, MPs have been pulling out all the stops to find creative ways of forcing the government’s hand. The amendments made to the Finance Bill were an example of this.

Now, MPs have voted through a business motion that drastically shortens the Brexit time line should May lose the vote on her final Brexit deal on January 15. According to the amendment, she must return to the House of Commons within three days for a vote on the further options. This is instead of the plan currently in place, which would have given her 21 days to present a new plan.

Who is behind the amendment?

This is a cross party amendment. A quick glance at the list of signatories shows some very familiar faces. Conservative backbencher Dominic Grieve has been a continual thorn in May’s side as she tries to pass Brexit legislation. Back in September 2017 he was writing about the need to challenge the government on its withdrawal legislation, which he felt was not up to scratch. His crusade to strengthen parliament’s voice on the issue has continued ever since. Now you can expect to see a “Grieve amendment” attached to almost any piece of Brexit-related legislation in parliament.

Also on the list is Chris Leslie, the Labour backbencher who has been similarly passionate about holding the government to account, tabling hundreds of amendments to May’s Brexit bills. Both are on the Politico’s list of Brexit troublemakers, where Leslie is described as an “amendment tabling machine”.

The SNP, Lib Dems, Plaid and the Greens have also signed up to the amendment. The smaller parties would typically always work together, but opposition to the prime minister’s Brexit timetable is now coming from MPs of all parties, including a significant number of her own.

Why was the selection of the amendment so controversial?

MPs spent the morning of January 9 in a heated debate about whether or not the amendment was constitutional – did it fall within the boundaries of parliamentary procedure? Many directed significant ire at Speaker John Bercow for selecting it for consideration, implying that he may be straying from the impartiality which the occupant of the chair should stand by. For some it was a case of the speaker rewriting or reinterpreting parliamentary rules, something that parliamentary correspondent Mark D'Arcy described as a “massive ruling” that could alter the course of Brexit should the prime minister lose the vote on the final deal.

This was because the amendment was tabled to a business motion. This is different to tabling amendments to a piece of legislation like the EU Withdrawal Bill. Typically, only the government can amend the business or timetable of the House and as such, amendments would normally only come from government. There was some speculation that the amendment was a test, putting the speaker in an awkward position as he had to decide what to do with it. It later became apparent that the amendment had been selected (perhaps to placate MPs and allow the matter to be on the record). In the speaker’s words, it came down to a distinction between a motion and an amendment, with this being one of the latter, as well as a discussion about the meaning of the word “forthwith” and whether this meant that a motion was unamendable or not.

It was clearly a difficult decision for Bercow, who repeatedly said he had to think carefully and make a judgement. But with reports that the House of Commons clerks had advised against the move, it seemed that the speaker really was taking a decision alone. It means that although parliament was not able to debate the amendment, Grieve was able to officially move it, and as a result, the House of Commons could vote on it. It was passed by 308 votes to 297.

Is this amendment enough to stop a no-deal Brexit?

On its own the amendment is not going to stop a no-deal Brexit. But it does speed up the timetable by which the government would need to come back to the House of Commons with a new plan of action should the vote on the deal be lost. As such, it is part of parliament’s wider attempt to rewrite the Brexit story. It is clear evidence of opposition to a no-deal Brexit and a growing consensus around the need for a clear decision to be expressed by parliament on a suitable alternative to the deal currently on the table.

Does it currently look like May will lose the Brexit deal vote?

The prime minister’s assurances over Christmas about the Northern Ireland border may have quelled the opposition from a handful of MPs, but it still looks likely that she will lose the vote on the final deal. It was reported that she planned to repeatedly put the deal to a vote until it passed. Grieve’s amendment aimed to prevent this. But it’s not really clear if the prime minister has a Plan B.

What is Labour planning on doing if she loses the vote?

At the moment we are expecting Labour to table a motion of no confidence in the government if the prime minister loses the vote on January 15. But the Grieve amendment may complicate things a little bit. Should party leader Jeremy Corbyn hang tight and see what comes back in the three-day window, or table it right away? His chances of winning would depend on the timing and on whether or not a plan B does emerge from the government benches.

]]>headlines,humanities,expert-comment,social-scienceThu, 10 Jan 2019 09:38:22 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_commons-241451.jpg?10000David Olusoga OBE becomes Professor at The University of Manchesterhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/david-olusoga-obe/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/david-olusoga-obe/Historian, broadcaster and film-maker David Olusoga has joined The University of Manchester as a Professor of Public History.
]]>Historian, broadcaster and film-maker David Olusoga has joined The University of Manchester as a Professor of Public History.

David, who presented the BBC's landmark series Civilisations in 2018 alongside Simon Schama and Mary Beard, is one of the UK’s foremost historians whose main subject areas are empire, race and slavery. He was made an OBE in the recent New Year’s Honours List.

He was born in Nigeria to a Nigerian father and British mother, and migrated to the UK with his mother as a young child. He grew up in Gateshead and lived on a council estate. Later his home was attacked by the National Front on multiple occasions and his family eventually forced out of their home. He later attended the University of Liverpool to study the history of slavery.

“I got into history because I wanted to make sense of the forces that have affected my life,” he says. “I’m from that generation who would look at Trevor McDonald on television – his gravitas and authority – and see hope and potential.”

After leaving university, Olusoga became a television producer, working on programmes such as Namibia Genocide and the Second Reich, The Lost Pictures of Eugene Smith and Abraham Lincoln: Saint or Sinner. He subsequently became a presenter, beginning in 2014 with The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire, about the Indian, African and Asian troops who fought in the First World War, followed by several other documentaries. His most recent TV series include Black and British: A Forgotten History, The World’s War, A House Through Time and the BAFTA award-winning Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners.

As well as his TV work, David is an award-winning author. His books include Civilizations: Encounters and the Cult of Progress,The World’s War, which won First World War Book of the Year, Black & British: A Forgotten History, which was awarded both the Longman-History Today Trustees Award and the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize and The Kaiser’s Holocaust: Germany’s Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots of Nazism. He also writes for The Observer, The Guardian, The New Statesman and BBC History Magazine.

​“David Olusoga’s insightful and inspiring research addresses some of the thorniest issues of human history, and his passion, clarity and depth set a very high standard,” said Professor Alessandro Schiesaro, Head of the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures at The University of Manchester. “His appointment as Professor of Public History at Manchester further strengthens our commitment to broadening the curriculum and to playing an active role in the public engagement with historical studies.”

]]>headlines,humanities,arts-languages-cultures,history,history-salcMon, 07 Jan 2019 09:00:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_davidolusoga-113882.jpg?10000New Year Honours for University peoplehttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/new-years-honours-for-university-people/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/new-years-honours-for-university-people/Professor Fiona Devine has been made a CBE in the New Year Honours as has honorary lecturer in dentistry, Dr Claire Stevens.
]]>Professor Fiona Devinehas been made a CBE in the New Year Honours as has honorary lecturer in dentistry, Dr Claire Stevens.

Fiona Devine, who was awarded her honour for services to the social sciences, is Head of Alliance Manchester Business School and Professor of Sociology at The University of Manchester. She was previously Head of Sociology (2004-7), Head of the School of Social Sciences (2009-13) and Co-Director of Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change (CRESC) (2012-4) at the University which she first joined in 1994. Prior to Manchester she worked at the University of Liverpool, the Policy Studies Institute, and the former Department of Employment in London. She studied Sociology and Government as an undergraduate at the University of Essex where she also completed an MA and PhD.

Fiona's research interests are in the related fields of social stratification and mobility (with a comparative focus including the US), work and employment, and politics and participation. With a team of colleagues from the LSE, York, Durham and MMU, she was involved in the BBC’s Great British Class Survey, an online survey completed by over 300,000 thousand people and a class calculator completed by 9 million people. The results have appeared in the book, Social Class in the 21st Century, published by Penguin in 2015.

Fiona is also currently a Fellow of the Centre for the Study of Poverty and Inequality, Stanford University, USA. She is an Honorary Professor in the Institute for Social Sciences and the Department of Sociology at the University of Queensland, Australia and continues to work with colleagues there.

She was awarded an OBE for services to social sciences in 2010, elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) in 2011 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (FRSA). Fiona is a companion of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). She was elected onto the Assembly of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce in 2015

Dr Claire Stevens has also been made CBE. The consultant in paediatric dentistry at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and honorary lecturer in dentistry is also president of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry. She has been recognised for services to children.

Claire graduated from Bristol Dental Hospital in 2000 and then moved to work as a General Professional Trainee in Newcastle Dental Hospital between 2000 – 2002, followed by a year as an associate and as an Honorary Clinical Fellow. She has also completed short placements in Dental Public Health and the Community Dental Services before commencing Specialist Training in 2003. Claire had a brief placement in Adelaide Children’s Hospital as a Senior Registrar before returning to the UK to complete higher level training and an MPhil in dental erosion.

Claire was appointed as a Consultant in June 2009. She developed the Adolescent Intravenous Sedation Service which began in November 2010 and provides care for highly anxious people. Claire was the recipient of a Research for Patient Benefit Grant which supported her team to investigate the patient acceptability of intravenous propofol sedation in adolescent dental care.

Claire is media spokesperson for and President of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry, an organisation which aims to improve oral health in children and encourages the highest standards of clinical care. Claire Chairs the Greater Manchester Paediatric Dentistry Managed Clinical Network – a group which is working to improve children’s oral health and Paediatric Dental Services across Greater Manchester. She also writes toothfairyblog.org which aims to provide pragmatic, evidence-based information for parents on children’s oral health.

Our alumni honoured

Members of the University’s alumni community have also received honours, including a damehood and a knighthood for two recipients of the University’s Outstanding Alumni Award.

Alison Nimmo (BA Town and Country Planning 1985, BPl 1986), Chief Executive for the Crown Estate, becomes Dame Alison Nimmo DBE CBE for public service and services to the Exchequer. Alison was recognised by the University in 2016 for her achievements, which include leading the regeneration of Manchester city centre after the IRA bomb in 1996. She will step down from her role as CEO for the Crown Estate in December, having been the first woman to hold the post.

Michael Ferguson (BSc Biochemistry 1979), Regius Professor of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee, is knighted for services to science and becomes Sir Mike Ferguson KBE FRS. Michael is a world-renowned expert in his field and has dedicated his career to studying the biochemistry of parasites that cause human tropical diseases, and received the University’s Outstanding Alumni Award in 2018.

Mary Isherwood (MEd Educational Leadership 2007), Headteacher at Camberwell Park School in Manchester, has been awarded an OBE for services to children and young people with special educational needs. Jamila Kossar (BA Religions and Theology 2007), co-founder of Manchester with the Homeless, receives an MBE for services to young people. Jamila is part of the senior leadership team at Manchester Islamic High School for Girls.

]]>headlines,University-news,Alliance-Manchester-Business-School,awards-and-honours,dentistry,health,humanities,Faculty-of-Humanities,sociology,topbannerFri, 28 Dec 2018 23:25:52 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_fiona-devine-500x298-740818.jpg?10000Ugandan graduate hopes to use skills to prevent flooding in his home countryhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/ugandan-graduate-prevent-flooding/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/ugandan-graduate-prevent-flooding/A student from Uganda who was able to do his master’s degree at The University of Manchester thanks to an Equity and Merit scholarship has just graduated, and hopes to use his skills to prevent flooding in his home country.
]]>A student from Uganda who was able to do his master’s degree at The University of Manchester thanks to an Equity and Merit scholarship has just graduated, and hopes to use his skills to prevent flooding in his home country.

Tom Geme grew up in one of the many slums in Kampala, Uganda’s capital city, where the homes of his family and his neighbours were regularly flooded because of poor environmental conditions and a lack of efficient planning and environmental regulations. He was an extremely bright child, and was supported throughout primary and secondary school by social workers who were working in the country at the time.

After school, he realised that he wanted to study environmental management to help improve the lives of his fellow Ugandans. After studying Environmental Conservation and Forestry in Kampala, he began working for Busoga Forestry Company (a Ugandan Subsidiary of Green Resources, Norway), East Africa’s largest forestry and carbon offset project.

However, he wanted to expand his skills further, and subsequently discovered that he could study MSc Environmental Impact Assessment and Management at The University of Manchester thanks to an Alan Gilbert Memorial Equity & Merit Scholarship.

“On joining Busoga Forestry in 2014, I met Rogers Muyambi (a former Equity and Merit Scholar) who had himself just returned to the company after his studies at Manchester,” Tom said. “I told him about my aspirations, and that is when I found out about the Equity and Merit Scholarship Programme. I could not apply immediately as I had to acquire the required work experience – but this waiting time was crucial, as it enabled me to explore career options and aspects I considered important to me both socially and professionally.”

He is now set to return to Uganda and use his new skills to contribute to much-needed sustainable development in the country. He is particularly keen on bridging the gap between the development of infrastructure (like roads, housing, bridges, power stations, industries), large scale activities like agriculture, forestry and mining, and environmental sustainability. This is in a bid to avoid or mitigate negative impacts such as flooding.

Now in its eleventh year, Equity and Merit funds students from Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia to take a postgraduate course that isn’t available in their home country. More than 250 exceptional individuals who are committed to the economic or social development of their home communities have been able to study at Manchester, before using their newly-gained knowledge to fight diseases such as malaria, build low-cost housing for slum dwellers or bring electricity to remote communities.

The scholarships reflect the University’s commitment to widening access to higher education, ensuring individuals gain life changing experiences based on equity as well as merit. They are jointly funded by the University and its donors - the University covers the tuition fee in full and the generosity of donors covers students’ living costs, flights to the UK and visas.

Equity and Merit scholarships really do change lives, as they enable recipients to study at a world-class university who would be unable to do so without a scheme like this,” said Joanne Jacobs from the University’s International Office, who oversees the scholarships.

]]>headlines,environment-education-development,humanities,graduationThu, 20 Dec 2018 12:32:22 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_tomgeme-498219.jpg?10000The Census may fail to capture the UK’s language diversity, researchers warnhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/the-census-language-diversity/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/the-census-language-diversity/Researchers at The University of Manchester’s Multilingual Manchester research unit have advised the Office for National Statistics that the next Census is likely to fail to fully capture the UK’s language diversity.
]]>Researchers at The University of Manchester’s Multilingual Manchester research unit have advised the Office for National Statistics that the next Census is likely to fail to fully capture the UK’s language diversity.

The questions set to appear in the 2021 Census were published last week in a government White Paper - however, the researchers say that the question ‘What is your main language’ is interpreted differently by different people, and as a result the statistics fail to show the whole picture.

The question was first introduced in the 2011 Census - the results showed that over 8% of the population declared a ‘main language’ other than English, and that Polish was the second most widely spoken language in England and Wales, after English.

“Some people interpreted ‘main language’ as the language they know best, others as the one they learned first, others took it to refer to the language they used most frequently, and some to the one they felt emotionally most attached to”, says Professor Yaron Matras, who leads Multilingual Manchester.

His critique is shared by researchers at the universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, and Lancaster, who together signed an open letter earlier this year asking the Office for National Statistics to consider amending the question.

The researchers suggest as an alternative wording - ‘Which languages are used in the household?’. Support has come from Shadow Immigration Minister Afzal Khan MP, Lord David Blunkett, and the Chief Executive of Manchester City Council, Joanne Roney OBE - she wrote to the UK Statistics Authority to say that collecting more accurate information on languages would help local authorities to improve services.

The researchers pointed out that other countries with an English speaking majority - such as New Zealand, Australia, Canada and South Africa - have better-worded questions on language in their census questionnaires, and allow multiple responses.

“We are hoping that the UK might learn from these countries, which all have an established history of immigration, and that the UK might in this way adjust to the reality of a globalised and open world”, says Professor Matras.

So far, the Office for National Statistics has agreed to consider revising the guidance notes for users in response to the suggestions made by the researchers, in an effort to introduce more clarity for the term ‘main language’, but it is still ruling out allowing users to list more than one language other than English.

]]>headlines,humanities,arts-languages-culturesThu, 20 Dec 2018 10:00:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_censusform-864454.jpg?10000Should we engineer the climate? A social scientist and natural scientist discusshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/should-we-engineer-the-climate/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/should-we-engineer-the-climate/This is an article from Head to Head, a series in which academics from different disciplines chew over current debates.

Rob Bellamy: 2018 has been a year of unprecedented weather extremes around the world. From the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Japan to the largest wildfire in the history of California, the frequency and intensity of such events have been made much more likely by human-induced climate change. They form part of a longer-term trend – observed in the past and projected into the future – that may soon make nations desperate enough to consider engineering the world’s climate deliberately in order to counteract the risks of climate change.

Indeed, the spectre of climate engineering hung heavily over the recent United Nations climate conference in Katowice, COP24, having featured in several side events as negotiators agreed on how to implement the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, but left many worried that it does not go far enough.

Matt Watson: Climate engineering – or geoengineering – is the purposeful intervention into the climate system to reduce the worst side effects of climate change. There are two broad types of engineering, greenhouse gas removal (GGR) and solar radiation management (or SRM). GGR focuses on removing anthropogenically emitted gases from the atmosphere, directly reducing the greenhouse effect. SRM, meanwhile, is the label given to a diverse mix of large-scale technology ideas for reflecting sunlight away from the Earth, thereby cooling it.

An engineered future?

RB: It’s increasingly looking like we may have to rely on a combination of such technologies in facing climate change. The authors of the recent IPCC report concluded that it is possible to limit global warming to no more than 1.5°C, but every single one of the pathways they envisaged that are consistent with this goal require the use of greenhouse gas removal, often on a vast scale. While these technologies vary in their levels of maturity, none are ready to be deployed yet – either for technical or social reasons or both.

SRM ideas include installing mirrors in Earth’s orbit, growing crops that have been genetically modified to make them lighter, painting urban areas white, spraying clouds with salt to make them brighter, and paving mirrors over desert areas – all to reflect sunlight away. But by far the best known idea – and that which has, rightly or wrongly, received the most attention by natural and social scientists alike – is injecting reflective particles, such as sulphate aerosols, into the stratosphere, otherwise known as “stratospheric aerosol injection” or SAI.

MW: Despite researching it, I do not feel particularly positive about SRM (very few people do). But our direction of travel is towards a world where climate change will have significant impacts, particularly on those most vulnerable. If you accept the scientific evidence, it’s hard to argue against options that might reduce those impacts, no matter how extreme they appear.

Do you remember the film 127 Hours? It tells the (true) story of a young climber who, pinned under a boulder in the middle of nowhere, eventually ends up amputating his arm, without anaesthetic, with a pen knife. In the end, he had little choice. Circumstances dictate decisions. So if you believe climate change is going to be severe, you have no option but to research the options (I am not advocating deployment) as broadly as possible. Because there may well come a point in the future where it would be immoral not to intervene.

SRM using stratospheric aerosols has many potential issues but does have a comparison in nature – active volcanism – which can partially inform us about the scientific challenges, such as the dynamic response of the stratosphere. Very little research is currently being conducted, due to a challenging funding landscape. What is being done is at small scale (financially), is linked to other, more benign ideas, or is privately funded. This is hardly ideal.

A controversial idea

RB: But SAI is a particularly divisive idea for a reason. For example, as well as threatening to disrupt regional weather patterns, it, and the related idea of brightening clouds at sea, would require regular “top-ups” to maintain cooling effects. Because of this, both methods would suffer from the risk of a “termination effect”: where any cessation of cooling would result in a sudden rise in global temperature in line with the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. If we hadn’t been reducing our greenhouse gas emissions in the background, this could be a very sharp rise indeed.

Such ideas also raise concerns about governance. What if one powerful actor – be it a nation or a wealthy individual – could change the global climate at a whim? And even if there were an international programme, how could meaningful consent be obtained from those who would be affected by the technology? That’s everybody on Earth. What if some nations were harmed by the aerosol injections of others? Attributing liability would be greatly contentious in a world where you can no longer disentangle natural from artificial.

And who could be trusted to deliver such a programme? Your experience with the SPICE (Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering) project shows that people are wary of private interests. There, it was concerns about a patent application that in part led to the scientists calling off a test of delivery hardware for SAI that would have seen the injection of water 1km above the ground via a pipe and tethered balloon.

MW: The technological risks, while vitally important, are not insurmountable. While non-trivial, there are existing technologies that could deliver material to the stratosphere.

Most researchers agree that the socio-political risks, such as you outline, outweigh the technological risks. One researcher remarked at a Royal Society meeting, in 2010: “We know that governments have failed to combat climate change, what are the chances of them safely implementing a less-optimal solution?”. This is a hard question to answer well. But in my experience, opponents to research never consider the risk of not researching these ideas.

The SPICE project is an example where scientists and engineers took the decision to call off part of an experiment. Despite what was reported, we did this of our own volition. It annoyed me greatly when others, including those who purported to provide oversight, claimed victory for the experiment not going ahead. This belies the amount of soul searching we undertook. I’m proud of the decisions we made, essentially unsupported, and in most people’s eyes it has added to scientists’ credibility.

Moral hazard

RB: Some people are also worried that the promise of large-scale climate engineering technologies might delay or distract us from reducing greenhouse gas emissions – a “moral hazard”. But this remains to be seen. There are good reasons to think that the promise (or threat) of SRM might even galvanise efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

MW: Yes, I think it’s at least as likely that the threat of SAI would prompt “positive” behaviour, towards a sustainable, greener future, than a “negative” behaviour pattern where we assume technology, currently imaginary, will solve our problems (in fact our grandchildren’s problems, in 50 years time).

RB: That said, the risks of a moral hazard may not be the same for all climate engineering ideas, or even all SRM ideas. It’s a shame that the specific idea of stratospheric aerosol injection is so frequently conflated with its parent category of SRM and climate engineering more generally. This leads people to tar all climate engineering ideas with the same brush, which is to the detriment of many other ideas that have so far raised relatively fewer societal concerns, such as more reflective settlements or grasslands on the SRM side of things, or virtually the entire category of greenhouse gas removal ideas. So we risk throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

MW: I agree with this – somewhat. It’s certainly true all techniques should be given the same amount of scrutiny based on evidence. Some techniques, however, often look benign but aren’t. Modifying crops to make them more reflective, brightening clouds, even planting trees all have potentially profound impacts at scale. I disagree a little in as much as we simply don’t know enough yet to say which technologies have the potential to reduce the impacts of climate change safely. This means we do need to be thinking about all of these ideas, but objectively.

Anyone that passionately backs a particular technology concerns me. If it could be conclusively proven that SAI did more harm than good, then we should stop researching it. All serious researchers in SAI would accept that outcome, and many are actively looking for showstoppers.

RB: I agree. But at present there is very little demand for research into SRM from governments and wider society. This needs to be addressed. And we need broad societal involvement in defining the tools – and terms – of such research, and indeed in tackling climate change more broadly.

The question of governance

MW: Some people think that we should just be getting on with engineering the climate, whereas others feel even the idea of it should not even be discussed or researched. Most academics value governance, as a mechanism that allows freedom to explore ideas safely and there are very few serious researchers, if any, who push back against this.

A challenge, of course, is who governs the governors. There are strong feelings on both sides – scientists either must, or cannot, govern their own research, depending on your viewpoint. Personally, I’d like to see a broad, international body set up with the power to govern climate engineering research, especially when conducting outdoor experiments. And I think the hurdles to conducting these experiments should consider both the environmental and social impact, but should not be an impediment to safe, thoughtful research.

RB: There are more proposed frameworks for governance than you can shake a stick at. But there are two major problems with them. The first is that most of those frameworks treat all SRM ideas as though they were stratospheric aerosol injection, and call for international regulation. That might be fine for those technologies with risks that cross national boundaries, but for ideas like reflective settlements and grasslands, such heavy handed governance might not make sense. Such governance is also at odds with the bottom-up architecture of the Paris Agreement, which states that countries will make nationally determined efforts to tackle climate change.

Which leads us to the second problem: these frameworks have almost exclusively arisen from a very narrow set of viewpoints – either those of natural or social scientists. What we really need now is broad societal participation in defining what governance itself should look like.

MW: Yes. There are so many questions that need to be addressed. Who pays for delivery and development and, critically, any consequences? How is the global south enfranchised - they are least responsible, most vulnerable and, given current geopolitical frameworks, unlikely to have a strong say. What does climate engineering mean for our relationship with nature: will anything ever be “natural” again (whatever that is)?

All these questions must be considered against the situation where we continue to emit CO₂ and extant risks from climate change increase. That climate engineering is sub-optimal to a pristine, sustainably managed planet is hard to argue against. But we don’t live in such a world. And when considered against a +3°C world, I’d suggest the opposite is highly likely to be true.

]]>humanities,headlines,expert-comment,social-scienceWed, 19 Dec 2018 13:35:08 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_planet-629201.jpg?10000How to understand Corbyn’s confusing no-confidence vote against Theresa Mayhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/corbyns-confusing-no-confidence-vote/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/corbyns-confusing-no-confidence-vote/Not for the first time in the Brexit process, confusion reigned in the UK parliament on December 17, when opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, proposed a vote of no confidence in the prime minister, Theresa May, only to later appear to backtrack. The prime minister ended up walking out of the chamber. Opposition MPs from other parties are now furious with both May and Corbyn. Here’s how to understand the latest Brexit chaos.

What was the motion put forward by Jeremy Corbyn?

Jeremy Corbyn told the House of Commons on Monday afternoon that he would be tabling a motion of no confidence in Theresa May. The wording of the motion says:

This House has no confidence in the prime minister due to her failure to allow the House of Commons to have a meaningful vote straightaway on the withdrawal agreement and framework for future relationships between the UK and the European Union.

This came on the back of growing frustration in the Commons since May postponed the “meaningful vote” on the final Brexit deal that was meant to take place on December 11, but which is now due to take place in January.

What is the difference between a vote of no confidence in the prime minister and a vote of no confidence in the government?

This is not quite the no-confidence motion that Westminster watchers have been speculating about over the past few weeks, because it is only expressing a lack of confidence in the prime minister, rather than in the government as a whole.

Downing Street also confirmed this to the press. Government controls most of the parliamentary timetable and, under the current wording, it does not have to include Corbyn’s motion in parliamentary business.

Erskine May – the book of Commons procedures and rules – states that the convention here is that the government will allocate time for a no-confidence motion in the government to be debated when it is tabled by the official opposition. This is because of the role of the official opposition as the government-in-waiting and the privileged position it holds in procedural terms as a result. But that doesn’t mean the same applies to a vote of confidence in the prime minister. So Corbyn may need to wait until an opposition day, when he can set the agenda, to hold his debate. Only 20 such days are scheduled per year, and there are none left in 2018.

Why did Corbyn call for the former and not the latter?

Corbyn himself has said that he is simply trying to pressure the prime minister into bringing the vote on the Brexit deal (currently scheduled for January) forward, allowing MPs to vote on it before Christmas. So it’s less about expressing no confidence and trying to bring down the government and more about trying to exert some control over parliamentary events.

‘I’ll check my diary, Jeremy but I couldn’t possibly fit this in before March 29.’

Labour shadow cabinet members have been repeating the line over the last few weeks that they were concerned about the timing of a confidence motion in the government and of the need to make sure that the other opposition parties would support them. The party has therefore held off.

But what this week has shown is that the other opposition parties are frustrated by Labour’s approach and would happily have supported an explicit motion of no confidence in the government. Whether that would have been enough to actually win a confidence vote without a rebellion on the Conservative benches is another matter.

Would the prime minister have to resign if she loses?

A motion in this form would cause embarrassment for the prime minister if it were passed in the House of Commons. But it would not necessarily mean she’d have to resign. It’s even less likely given the staunch attitude May took after the confidence vote called by her own party’s MPs a week earlier.

What does this mean for the Brexit vote?

Right now, parliament is still on track to vote on the deal on January 14, though May remains under pressure on this point.

What was the amendment put forward by the opposition parties?

In response to the motion but forward by Jeremy Corbyn, the smaller opposition parties expressed their frustration that the motion had not been worded in such a way as to create a binding motion under the terms of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act. They tabled an amendment to it, replacing “prime minister” with “HM government” and thus creating the required wording.

But this is only an amendment, and cannot be debated until the Corbyn motion itself is given time on the floor of the House of Commons. With the government still unwilling to grant this time at present, it looks likely to sit around for some time.

As the debacle continued into December 18, one SNP MP called for a motion of no confidence in the opposition for making a mess of its own motion of no confidence. This is more of a parliamentary stunt than a formal call for a no-confidence motion – and it is not the first time the SNP has questioned whether Labour is the correct official opposition party. But it shows the growing tension between Labour and the other opposition parties and the growing weariness with Corbyn’s cautious approach.

Can the opposition still call a vote of no confidence in the government before the Brexit vote?

A formal vote of no confidence in the government could still be tabled – and there is clearly support for this from the SNP, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Greens. But the onus remains on Corbyn and the official opposition to be the ones to table it.

]]>headlines,humanities,social-science,expert-commentWed, 19 Dec 2018 12:30:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_corb1-117526.jpg?10000International students - universities must lead fight against intolerance of migrantshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/international-students/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/international-students/What happens when the president of the world’s leading superpower makes inflammatory comments about immigrants and wins an election based largely on a racist and nationalist platform? As we’ve seen over the past two years, his followers feel emboldened and righteous in their discrimination against immigrants, despite their hopes, ambitions and rich personal histories.

Similarly in the UK, after the referendum to leave the EU, some voters felt free to vent their racist views. International students have also been feeling unwelcome due to high tuition fees, tight immigration laws and the introduction of charges to use the NHS.

This has profound implications for the higher education sector, where international students bring numerous social, cultural and financial benefits to their host institutions and country. In the US for example, in 2017-18, there were 1,094,792 international students who contributed US$39 billion to the economy, supporting 455,622 American jobs – equal to three jobs per seven international students.

Yet prejudice against international students is on the rise in the US and the UK. A recent US study found that this prejudice was predicted by support for Trump. Its author suggests that students who champion Trump’s vision of America might see international students through a racist lens, viewing them as unwelcome “others”.

A small study of just 389 home students, it can’t be used to generalise attitudes of all Trump supporters, but it can provide a window on what might be happening on university campuses across the the country where there are international students. And it serves as an important reminder for other countries, such as the UK, to consider how political debate can have an impact on international students.

Dealing with change

Regardless of the political context of the country they choose to study in, international students typically experience many changes, including moving to a new country and city with different educational, social care and health systems. They also face separation from family and friends and the need to make new friends and establish relationships with staff and the local community.

They encounter different cultures and languages, experience new expectations and realities and have to deal with issues such as housing, finances and health care. Most international students not only adapt well to these changes, they thrive. But for some, the challenges can have a negative impact on their well-being – particularly in places which are less than welcoming to international students.

There is a large body of research, including our own highlighting the fact that for international students, mixing with home students can be challenging – even without a political climate that discriminates against them as immigrants. We, and other researchers, have found that most visiting students don’t have much interaction with home students, which can explain why they are often perceived as “other”.

How well students are able to develop academic relationships and social friendships has an impact on their ability to cope with the complex demands of higher education. Some are more at risk in terms of isolation and stress, which can seriously affect their education and well-being. These consequences also come at a cost to the university and the wider community beyond, where positive experiences between different cultures can contribute to more tolerant, inclusive societies.

It is also important to remember that international students choose to go abroad to learn about other cultures, an experience that can also benefit home students. It can lead to a better understanding and appreciation of the world, an ability to think critically and consider different perspectives in their studies. When there is so much to gain, failure to integrate international students is a wasted opportunity for host communities and visiting students alike.

Role of university staff

Academic staff can be one of the most important support networks for international students. In their new environment – cut off from friends and family ties – they often see staff as the most familiar and trusted people, especially before they’ve had a chance to make new friends.

So how can universities encourage and nurture meaningful integration, especially in environments which can be hostile towards immigrants? Our studies have documented the positive impact of authentic group-work activities. By mixing up students’ normal groupings, teachers can influence the academic and social learning of both international and home students.

In the same way, using culturally relevant learning materials, such as books by authors from different countries, exploring topics like international human rights, and using case studies that include international contexts, can encourage students to share their own diverse range of perspectives in inclusive ways.

The responsibility of a university is not limited to just providing a good learning environment – it must provide a good social environment too. Our award-winning research into social transitions of international doctoral students in the UK found that participants wanted staff to see them as more than just students – to see them as human beings first. Mixing socially and sharing cultural events provides an enjoyable social setting for students and staff to get together, helps to break down stereotypes and enhances understanding of different cultures.

In a climate of rising intolerance across the world, it is more important than ever that universities step up and lead by example when it comes to being inclusive.

]]>expert-comment,humanities,environment-education-developmentThu, 13 Dec 2018 09:25:13 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_intlstudents-650926.jpg?10000Multiple successes for Manchester undergrads at world’s most prestigious student awardshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/multiple-successes-for-manchester-undergrads-at-worlds-most-prestigious-student-awards/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/multiple-successes-for-manchester-undergrads-at-worlds-most-prestigious-student-awards/Two University of Manchester students have won the highest award possible at this year’s prestigious Undergraduate Awards.

Amelia Halls and Cristian Bodnar took home the coveted Thomas Clarkson Gold Medal for their academic research and presentations. Cristian won in the Computer Sciences category while Amelia scooped the Classical Studies & Archaeology prize.

The pair’s accomplishments weren’t the University’s only prize-winning student success at the summit. Sarah Joliffe, who studied Nursing at Manchester, was named the Regional Winner for Europe in the Nursing, Midwifery, & Allied Care category, whilst nine others Highly Commended and a further 18 were commended for their work.

The awards are part of the Global Undergraduate Summit, a three-day conference which is regarded as “the world's leading academic awards” that brings together “the world’s top performing students”. This year those taking part in the competition came from 60 universities across19 countries to present in 25 different categories.

Cristian, who has now graduated from Manchester and is studying a master’s in Advanced Computer Science at Cambridge, said: “It feels really rewarding to get the prize after nine months of working almost non-stop. At times the work got very frustrating. But I am delighted that I managed, in the end, to bring something new to the field and receive such a prestigious recognition for that.”

Amelia, who was equally as pleased to win, said: “I am absolutely honoured to have won such a prestigious award; I worked incredibly hard and am incredibly proud of the piece of research I submitted and it is amazing that my achievement has been globally recognised.”

Amelia says the recognition is even more special for her personally due to having some issues with her mental health. “I have struggled with anxiety and depression for most of my life, so winning this award felt like a ray of sunshine, reminding me that I am more than capable of achieving whatever I put my mind to,” she added. “Ultimately, I am delighted and inspired by winning this award.”

As well as winning their awards, Cristian and Amelia have also gained valuable contacts, shared new experiences and, most importantly, made new friends in Dublin. Christian added: “I learned a lot about what the other winners did and also met so many nice people from all over the world. It was really interesting to discover what their story was and what they want to do in the future.”

Amelia agreed: “I made a great number of friends at the Summit who I hope to remain in contact with for a long time, keeping up to date with their research and their own powerful impacts on the world.”

This year, in total, the awards received more than 4,800 submissions from undergraduates in 333 universities from 46 countries. The students presented their research in 25 different categories showcasing work from across the sciences, humanities, business and the creative arts.

The names of the highly commended students werere Anna Sorrell, Joe Taylor and Shauna Walker who were Highly Commended in the Literature category; Otilia Vintu who was Highly Commended in two categories, Politics & International Relations and Social Sciences: Sociology & Social Policy; Rosanna Lundqvist in the Business category, Karolina Piotrowska in the Economics category; Umair Khan in Medical Sciences category; Jerold Siah for economics and Ka Yan Chong in philosophy.

Professor Kersti Börjars, lead on the University’s Learning through Research project, said “I am really pleased to see the breadth of achievement across the University, this is evidence not just of the calibre of our students, but also of the value of being an undergraduate at a research intense University.”

Executive Director of the Awards, Dr Garret Maher spoke of the significance of the Global Undergraduate Summit: “It helps young students understand their responsibility to engage in issues of global importance and encourages debate in an atmosphere of solidarity. This experience will contribute to how they conduct their professional lives in the future.”

]]>headlines,student-news,students,sciences,humanities,Faculty-of-Humanities,science-and-engineering,computer-science,University News,arts-languages-culturesWed, 05 Dec 2018 11:15:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_sponsorwall-ameliahalls-crop-846616.jpg?10000Antarctic researchers enter a state of ‘psychological hibernation’, study findshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/antarctic-researchers/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/antarctic-researchers/Antarctic researchers enter a state of ‘psychological hibernation’ to cope with the stresses of constant darkness, isolation and confinement, according to a new study.
]]>Antarctic researchers enter a state of ‘psychological hibernation’ to cope with the stresses of constant darkness, isolation and confinement, according to a new study.

Spending long periods of time in isolation and confinement in any environment has been shown to cause negative psychological reactions and changes in health. Station personnel in Antarctica have reported a variety of issues, ranging from disrupted mood and anxiety to more severe psychiatric reactions. These changes are particularly pronounced during the midwinter period, and have come to reflect symptoms known as the ‘winter-over syndrome’.

With the support of the European Space Agency, researchers from The University of Manchester, University of Bergen in Norway and Tilburg University in The Netherlands examined the change in sleep quality, emotions and coping strategies during two winters in the harsh atmosphere of Concordia Station. The area has the driest desert climate on Earth, and a low air pressure and oxygen-poor atmosphere. It is completely cut off during winter, the mean temperature is -51°C, and the lowest recorded temperature is -85°C.

Using psychometric questionnaires, the researchers asked personnel to report on their sleep, emotional states and coping strategies across the winter. They found a pattern of deteriorating sleep quality and declining positive emotions as the winter progressed, which then recovered as the sun returned.

However, they also found that all of the coping strategies assessed declined during the winter period, and then returned after the dark winter phase had passed. This surprised the researchers, who had thought that active coping efforts – such as problem-solving and comforting self talk - would decrease, and more passive coping efforts - such as denial and depressive reactions - would increase in midwinter when personnel were truly cut off.

It is also important to note that Antarctic station infrastructure has developed, and personnel now live in relative comfort during their stay - this is very different to earlier studies, where the risk of exposure was higher and the resources available to mitigate stress were more limited. As a result, the mechanisms that individuals use to deal with stress during long duration confinement in these isolated but more comfortable habitats is likely to reflect the conditions people find themselves in.

Overall, the research raises many questions as to how people maintain their health and cope with the environmental demands whilst living in these types of isolated and confined conditions.

The findings have implications for people spending long amounts of time in isolated and confined conditions, particularly at higher latitudes. Antarctic studies have been viewed as comparable to spaceflight - so this research could also contribute to understanding how to keep astronauts well during long space missions.

“Historically, this will have been dangerous - while in this state you may be slow to react to changing conditions, which in extreme cold weather environments could result in serious injury or death. However, Antarctic stations are much more habitable nowadays, and provide high levels of protection against the elements - so detaching from chronic stress as a coping mechanism could be effective.”

]]>headlines,humanities,social-scienceTue, 04 Dec 2018 11:30:56 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_concordia-727247.jpg?10000Event discusses how to ensure Greater Manchester’s economy thrives https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/greater-manchesters-economy/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/greater-manchesters-economy/Almost a year on since the UK Government published its Industrial Strategy, academics, representatives from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and the Government have collaborated at an event to help inform policy priorities for Greater Manchester’s Local Industrial Strategy.
]]>Almost a year on since the UK Government published its Industrial Strategy, academics, representatives from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and the Government have collaborated at an event to help inform policy priorities for Greater Manchester’s Local Industrial Strategy.

Minister for Business and Industry Richard Harrington MP was joined by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, to speak about ‘Delivering the Grand Challenges Locally, Nationally and Globally’.The panel event, which attracted around 100 attendees, was chaired by Luke Georghiou, Deputy President and Deputy Vice Chancellor, at The University of Manchester. Fellow panellists were Marianne Sensier - also from the University - and Jessica Bowles, Director of Strategy at Bruntwood.

The panel event was part of a day of activities organised by Policy@Manchester, which focused on the Grand Challenges. Four round tables were held with contributors speaking on clean growth, ageing society, future of mobility and AI and Data. These collaborative discussions are part of ongoing work between the GMCA and the UK Government to develop one of the country’s first modern local industrial strategies.

“Our Local Industrial Strategy will help us capitalise on the areas where Greater Manchester is truly world class, and build our future prosperity” said Andy Burnham. “Greater Manchester led the first industrial revolution - I see no reason why we can’t lead the fourth.”

The day explored the next steps for Greater Manchester in delivering their vision within the framework of a Local Industrial Strategy.Attendees discussed the skills and infrastructure required to create a thriving economy with real job growth and increased productivity for the local population - and which could also be successful nationally and globally. This provided a platform for academics to actively contribute to this policy making, supporting the ideas with their research.

“Grand Challenges require an integrated approach that is more easily delivered in well-joined up cities such as Greater Manchester,” said Luke Georghiou.
]]>headlines,humanities,environment-education-developmentMon, 03 Dec 2018 15:06:09 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_industrialstrategypanel2-147058.jpg?10000New global survey highlights bribery and corruption in businesseshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/bribery-and-corruption-in-businesses/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/bribery-and-corruption-in-businesses/While progress has been made, improvements to companies’ anti-bribery and corruption strategies are still needed, according to the 2018 Global White Collar Crime Survey, which has been launched by The University of Manchester and global law firm White & Case LLP.
]]>While progress has been made, improvements to companies’ anti-bribery and corruption strategies are still needed, according to the 2018 Global White Collar Crime Survey, which has been launched by The University of Manchester and global law firm White & Case LLP.

The survey gathered views anonymously from employees at businesses operating across a variety of sectors and jurisdictions. It explores a range of themes surrounding bribery and corruption, building a comprehensive picture of the risks currently faced, as well as the steps being taken to mitigate them.

When asked whether their company has a formal policy in place, 29% of employees answered ‘no’ or ‘don’t know’ (19% of respondents reported that it did not), indicating that there was either no policy, or no effective communication strategy around it.

In addition, respondents openly agreed that opportunities for bribery and corruption, as well as pressure to overlook risks, exist day-to-day - 39% of respondents in non-legal/compliance roles, such as sales and marketing, thought it would be possible for someone in their company to offer a bribe to a public official for preferential treatment, and 40% of employees from legal/compliance departments said that they had felt under pressure to approve the engagement of a third party despite bribery and corruption red flags.

The research revealed that perceptions around the benefits of bribery are still a key issue. 48% of respondents feel that people who pay bribes on behalf of their company are rewarded internally, and/or able to enjoy substantial personal benefit. Of those who indicated this is the case, 64% felt that the employee concerned would be awarded ‘special status’ and 60% indicated they felt promotion would likely follow, for helping to meet company targets.

Jonathan Pickworth, Partner at White & Case, comments: “Companies need to do more to tackle this idea that wrong-doing will result in substantial personal gain. The consequences of bribery and corruption are severe, and law enforcement agencies’ powers to investigate and prosecute have grown substantially over the last few years. Employers need to make sure their staff are aware of the legal implications, and severity of penalties.”

When employees suspect or identify bribery and corruption by a co-worker, 88% would be inclined to raise the issue internally, rather than externally. Just 3% said they would make use of a whistleblowing hotline, and only 2% said they would go to a regulator or authority. 6% said they wouldn’t notify anyone.

“The study indicates that there is still a way to go – in terms of the development of internal compliance programmes and structure, and also in changing perceptions around the benefits and consequences of bribery and corruption.”

]]>headlines,humanities,lawMon, 03 Dec 2018 10:26:09 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_whitecollar-279128.jpg?10000Manchester hosts first conference for justice campaignhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/conference-for-justice-campaign/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/conference-for-justice-campaign/The first-ever conference for the Innovation of Justice campaign, which campaigns in defence of people who have been victims of miscarriages of justice, has been hosted by The University of Manchester’s School of Law.
]]>The first-ever conference for the Innovation of Justice campaign, which campaigns in defence of people who have been victims of miscarriages of justice, has been hosted by The University of Manchester’s School of Law.

The non-profit campaign was co-founded by Liam Allan, who was falsely accused of rape and exonerated after it was revealed during the court case the police had failed to disclose vital evidence proving innocence. The campaign is also co-founded by Annie Brodie-Akers, a University of Sheffield law student and the President and Chair of the Miscarriage of Justice Awareness Society.

The campaign hopes to break down the barriers between victims of miscarriages of justice and those who can change and influence the law. The founders believe that the UK’s criminal justice system needs repair and reform, and aims to campaign in solidarity with people who don't currently have a voice, and bring it to the forefront of the government’s mind.

The conference covered a range of topics including issues facing the legal profession, disclosure failings, false allegations and wrongful convictions. Many people who have faced these issues spoke at the event, including Eddie Gilfoyle - who was released in 2010 after being sentenced to 18 years for the murder of his pregnant wife – and Michael O’Brien, one of the wrongfully convicted Cardiff Three, who detailed his struggles in prison and after his release.

Mark George QC also spoke about the increasing number of people unable to appoint a lawyer because of changes to legal aid, and described this as ‘simply unacceptable’.

Liam Allan, the 22-year-old student who was wrongfully charged with 12 counts of rape and sexual assault last year, was also at the conference. His barrister Julia Smart outlined the extraordinary failings of the police and the prosecuting authorities in his case. She spoke of finding herself on the week of his trial with all of the material required to prove beyond a doubt that he was a wholly innocent man, but this had not been previously disclosed to the defence. Liam closed the day with a positive speech about the conference, hope, and achieving the seemingly impossible.

“Our justice system is in crisis and has been for a long time. The public and politicians need to listen and lead change before yet more innocent people end up in prison or suffer what Liam and many others have.”

“The team behind Innovation of Justice cannot thank The University of Manchester’s School of Law enough for helping us with our first event,” said Annie Brodie-Akers. “Their commitment and dedication to the project is what has made it as successful as it is now. We are proud to host this first event with Manchester, and wish to say a special thanks to them for assisting us in this journey for the past few months.”

]]>headlines,humanities,lawFri, 30 Nov 2018 15:32:44 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_miscarriagesofjustice-388834.jpg?10000Theresa May could win a slice of British ethnic minority vote with tough Brexit immigration line – what my research reveals https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/theresa-may-british-ethnic-minority-vote-tough-brexit-immigration/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/theresa-may-british-ethnic-minority-vote-tough-brexit-immigration/Theresa May has faced widespread criticism following comments to the Confederation of British Industry that EU nationals have jumped “the queue” to migrate to the UK ahead of non-EU nationals during the UK’s membership of the bloc.
]]>Neema Begum, University of Manchester

Theresa May has faced widespread criticism following comments to the Confederation of British Industry that EU nationals have jumped “the queue” to migrate to the UK ahead of non-EU nationals during the UK’s membership of the bloc. The prime minister said:

It will no longer be the case that EU nationals, regardless of the skills or experience they have to offer, can jump the queue ahead of engineers from Sydney or software developers from Delhi.

Despite reports that Brexit will hit ethnic minorities harder, May’s speech is likely to appeal to ethnic minority Leave voters, who my research has shown feel it’s unfair that EU migrants have had an easier route to the UK than non-EU migrants. Similar rhetoric which pits EU and non-EU migrants against each other came up in black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) Leave voters’ reasons for supporting Brexit.

An end to ‘preferential’ treatment

In 20 focus groups and interviews with ethnic minority Remain and Leave voters I conducted over the summer of 2017, as part of my PhD research, I heard many BAME Leave voters give European immigration as a key reason for supporting Brexit. They wanted to see fewer barriers for Commonwealth migration, disgruntled with what they saw as “preferential” treatment for EU migrants who they believe have had easier access to live and work in the UK.

Of my participants, Bangladeshi restaurant owners blamed freedom of movement for the staff shortage crisis in the curry industry and the difficulties associated with recruiting staff from outside the EU. They felt that the government’s visa stipulations including an earnings threshold of £18,600 were caused by an inability to control European immigration.

When groups such as Muslims for Britain and Africans for Britain campaigned for Brexit, they cited competition posed by EU migrant labour and the contribution made by Britain’s former colonies, which they felt gave them a greater claim to belonging in the UK. Leaving the EU, the BAME Leave voters I interviewed argued, would lead to greater trade and immigration from the Commonwealth. One member of a focus group of Bangladeshi male Leave voters felt they had been made to feel “inferior” to EU citizens:

There’s a historical link; we, our ancestors, came to this country, contributed to British economy, building infrastructure, and even lots of our ancestors fought in Second World War in favour of Britain. They sacrificed their lives … what’s good (about) being a member of Commonwealth country? Europeans have been prioritised and we’ve been neglected.

Some saw EU policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy as a disadvantage to African and Asian economies outside the EU bloc. And there was a strong sense amongst BAME Leave voters of Europe as a “white Fortress”. For example, one British Indian Leave voter stated:

At the time of the European migration crisis we saw a number of countries putting up borders within the EU so I think the whole idea of the EU as this bastion of free movement and respects immigrants or whatever was a bit shallow for me.

An electoral mountain to climb

But May’s promise that Brexit will lead to a fairer immigration system that doesn’t discriminate against where people come from won’t necessarily convince those ethnic minority voters angered by the Windrush scandal and those who see her as chief architect of the “hostile environment” policy on immigration. Adding to this will be May’s emphasis in her CBI speech that citizens from mainly “white” countries such as Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand will be able to use e-gates at UK borders as part of a new post-Brexit immigration system.

The great majority of ethnic minority Britons voted Remain in the EU referendum, and the Conservatives’ tough rhetoric on immigration will do little to attract their vote – particularly because many supported Remain because of the perceived racism and xenophobia around anti-immigration discourses during the referendum. Many of those I interviewed felt that it wasn’t just immigrants or Europeans who were being targeted, but anyone who wasn’t white including British black and Asian people. One Remain voter of black African background felt that even though European immigration was a key issue in the 2016 referendum, rhetoric such as “we want our country back” felt like it was “aimed at us”.

May’s plan to sell the Brexit deal to voters as an opportunity to introduce a “fairer” immigration system may appeal to some ethnic minority voters, but it largely serves to stoke tensions between EU nationals and longer-settled migrant groups from the Commonwealth and their descendants. As members of the Windrush generation found out so harshly, the rules on who’s welcome in Britain and who isn’t are arbitrary and ever-changing.

]]>humanities,expert-comment,UK-politics,headlinesFri, 23 Nov 2018 17:05:26 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_parliament.jpg?10000Manchester professor hosts dialogue between Chinese & US diplomatshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/chinese-us-diplomats/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/chinese-us-diplomats/A group of Chinese and American diplomats have met in Washington, DC to discuss US-China relations, security challenges, overseas development and a host of other bilateral and global issues.
]]>A group of Chinese and American diplomats have met in Washington, DC to discuss US-China relations, security challenges, overseas development and a host of other bilateral and global issues.

Professor Peter Gries of the Manchester China Institute established the US-China Diplomatic Dialogue in 2007 to generate mutual trust and improve U.S.-China relations. It does this by creating an informal atmosphere in which participating diplomats can establish personal relationships while frankly exchanging their views.

15 diplomats participated in the 11th annual Dialogue. The Americans came from the US State Department, mostly from its China Desk. Three of the Chinese diplomats came from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, one from the Chinese mission to the UN, and one each from the Chinese consulates in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston.

As an icebreaker, Professor Gries hosted 13 of the diplomats the night before for an informal dinner and a basketball game. The game gave the diplomats a chance to get to know one another before the formal sit down sessions the next day.

Topics covered at the meeting ranged from U.S.– China relations under the Trump and Xi administrations, managing security challenges from the South China Seas to the Taiwan Strait, development assistance in the Third World, including China’s Belt and Road Initiative, mutual perceptions, public diplomacy and academic and cultural exchanges.

Americans and the Chinese grow up in very different socio-political environments, and this can result in very different views of the world. In such a context, they can easily project their worst fears onto one another, increasing the likelihood of conflict.

Dialogues therefore have a vital role in helping each side better understand the others’ views, lessening the likelihood that misperceptions and fear will contribute to war. Because of the working-level, informal, and intimate nature of the US-China Diplomatic Dialogue, it also allows young Chinese and American diplomats to form personal relationships that they can call upon in their future careers.
]]>headlines,humanities,social-scienceMon, 19 Nov 2018 16:02:25 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_dialogue-541784.jpg?10000University celebrates 70 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rightshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/universal-declaration-of-human-rights/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/universal-declaration-of-human-rights/It is exactly 70 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in December 1948, and to kick off a month of celebrations, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kate Gilmore has visited The University of Manchester.
]]>It is exactly 70 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in December 1948, and to kick off a month of celebrations, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kate Gilmore has visited The University of Manchester.

A group of academics joined Kate, Tony Lloyd MP and Debbie Abrahams MP, to discuss their work on the On Cohesion publication, which examined questions of social cohesion, violent extremism, youth engagement and counter-terrorism in Manchester.

The publication was launched in June this year, and has been well received amongst policy makers and stakeholders across the country.

They also spoke about their reflections on the work undertaken in the city since the bombing of Manchester Arena in 2017.

A range of stakeholders were invited to the panel event to hear from the academics, and Kate Gilmore spoke about the importance of cohesion within communities and the local and global impact of a united response.

The event - organised by Policy@Manchester - formed part of a day-long programme for the Commissioner at The University of Manchester.

“It was a pleasure not only to be part of the event on Monday, but to join in the celebrations of the declaration of Human Rights,” said Debbie Abrahams MP. “The research highlighted really resonated with me, particularly in relation to the potential effects of inequalities. I work across all sections of my constituency to build social cohesion and trust within our communities, and wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment that we need to value equality more than division.”

“I was delighted to be involved in this morning’s event” added Tony Lloyd MP. “It is vital that we do not take cohesion for granted - if people feel dispossessed or disengaged, there is sense of alienation and of feeling left out. The messages from Kate Gilmore and the academics today lend support to the work that is being undertaken within the City and our communities.”

]]>headlines,humanities,social-scienceMon, 19 Nov 2018 09:04:48 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_undhr-658716.jpg?10000Geras is essential reading for politics students – not a subversive threathttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/geras/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/geras/Politics students at the University of Reading were reportedly told to “take care” when reading an essay by the late political theorist, Norman Geras. The Observer newspaper reported the students were warned about the essay – which was on their reading list – in order not to fall foul of Prevent, the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy.

I worked closely with Geras, who was a professor at The University of Manchester for most of his career. The essay in question – “Our Morals: The Ethics of Revolution” – has a carefully circumscribed justification for political violence in the most extreme circumstances.

A spokesperson for the University of Reading said it had acted in accordance with the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 – which contains the Prevent strategy. That guidance, the University said, requires individuals to make the University aware if they intend to access material deemed to be security-sensitive. This, the spokesperson said, “protects students and staff from being vulnerable to arrest or prosecution and allows the University to meet its Prevent obligations”.

I understand that “Our Morals” is now on the reading list for politics students who have been assured by university authorities that they are free to read the essay. And rightly so – for Geras’s essay to fall foul of the Prevent strategy, it would mean that the work of almost every political philosopher from Plato onwards would be similarly suspect. It’s hard to imagine what sensible criteria could have been used to make this initial negative assessment.

Universities now have a statutory duty under Prevent to report those they suspect may be vulnerable to radicalisation. The strategy is to challenge ideologies that inspire terrorism by disrupting the promotion of these views – it is essentially about stopping vulnerable young people from falling prey to recruitment and radicalisation by repugnant and dangerous radical groups such as Islamic State or National Action.

Norman Geras: 1943-2013.Normfest

Somebody at Reading decided that Geras’s paper “Our Morals”, published in 1989, might inspire or encourage the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. Students were therefore initially warned not to access it on personal devices, nor to read it in insecure settings, nor leave it where it might inadvertently or otherwise be seen by those who are not prepared to view it.

Nick Cohen in The Spectator nicely captures the foolishness, ignorance, condescension and paranoia of the decision to warn students about Geras’s work. Labelling Geras’s work as potentially politically subversive is, in Cohen’s words, “insane”.

Geras was born and grew up in what was then Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) but left in 1962 to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Pembroke College Oxford. After graduating, he joined the Government Department (now Politics) at the University of Manchester where he remained until his retirement in 2003.

The essay Our Morals was published in 1989.

Geras wrote on a wide range of academic and non-academic subjects. His books, particularly on Marxism and later the Holocaust, are seminal texts which changed the way we think about these topics. His weblog, which he wrote after he retired until his death in 2013, covered a range of academic and other issues, but its focus was largely concerned with calling out the suffering and injustices that occur around the world.

Geras unapologetically held a liberal socialist set of values which championed economic equality combined with universal individual rights and freedoms. He challenged anyone who violated, or gave succour to, those who violated these principles – irrespective of their political affiliations. For example, as a life-long person of the left, he nevertheless excoriated those who engaged in left-wing anti-Semitism in a masterly analysis of this unwelcome phenomenon. In short, all of Geras’s work was concerned with justice, equality and fairness. It is the very opposite of the hate-filled ideologies that Prevent is seeking to confront.

“Our Morals”, which provoked this imbroglio, is an excellent and carefully argued tract on what Geras calls the “ethics of revolution”. It seeks to outline a precise moral code for those leaders of resistance movements who need to act effectively while also respecting fundamental moral boundaries. Geras’s essay is a careful study of the need for stringent moral constraints on the use of violence even when reluctantly used in self-defence or in the service of seeking justice.

In my own work, I’ve argued that Geras’s work in “Our Morals” could be made more specific when articulating the conditions for when the use of violence might be morally justified. I suggested three criteria: proportionality, reasonable success and correct motive. He did not like my criteria, thinking them perhaps too permissive.

Responding to my essay which sought to expand his insights in “Our Morals”, he admitted his reluctance to outline systematic rules or principles that justified violence. For Geras, the only possible justification for violence is to avert imminent and certain disaster. Geras’s deep reluctance to advocate any political violence, even in the most difficult circumstances, was never far from his thoughts. Even when violence may become necessary to prevent an impending moral catastrophe, such as genocide, its use must always remain exceedingly rare and conducted with a very heavy heart.

Geras’s formidable intellect and moral gravitas rightly earned him the reputation of an engaged political theorist of great distinction. The University of Reading ought to encourage its students to engage with more of his writings, rather than damage his reputation and misrepresent the very essence of his work on ethics and political action.

]]>social-science,humanities,expert-comment,headlinesFri, 16 Nov 2018 15:28:28 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_geras-161609.jpg?10000Ethiopian ambassador visits university and meets scholarship studentshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/ethiopian-ambassador-visits-university/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/ethiopian-ambassador-visits-university/The Ethiopian ambassador to the United Kingdom, H.E. Dr Hailemichael Aberra Afework, has spent the day at The University of Manchester, exploring the many links between the University and Ethiopia and meeting the first students from Ethiopia to be awarded the university’s Equity and Merit scholarships.
]]>The Ethiopian ambassador to the United Kingdom, H.E. Dr Hailemichael Aberra Afework, has spent the day at The University of Manchester, exploring the many links between the University and Ethiopia and meeting the first students from Ethiopia to be awarded the university’s Equity and Merit scholarships.

Equity and Merit scholarships reflect the University’s commitment to widening access to higher education, ensuring individuals gain life changing experiences based on equity as well as merit. The scholarships are jointly funded by the University and the generosity of its donors - the University covers tuition fees in full, and the donors pay for students’ living expenses, return international air fares and visas.

To date, the scheme has supported 255 young professionals from Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania to pursue a master’s degree at the University. This year the scheme has been extended to include students from Ethiopia - Africa’s second largest country by population – who study courses including engineering, renewable energy, environmental governance and international development.

The ambassador met with a number of scholars including International Fashion Marketing student Binyam Andargie, Communications and Signal Processing student Yacob Tsegaye and International Development student Ruth Bezu. They discussed their time so far in Manchester, what they hope to gain from their study here, and how they plan to use their new skills to transform Ethiopia.

The country is experiencing a period of unprecedented political and economic change, and on their return, the students will play an important role in shaping the development of the country. For example, Aida Bayissa has worked as a Senior Analyst at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in Addis Ababa, and has been supporting the Ethiopian government on policies which promote inclusive growth.

"However, this is definitely not a one-way street - the students bring valuable work and life experience which enhances the learning of all our students, and helps make the University a truly global community."

During the day, the ambassador also met Chancellor Lemn Sissay MBE, who has Ethiopian heritage and regularly visits the country. In his role as Chancellor, he has been supportive of a number of new initiatives for under-represented groups including Equity and Merit Scholarships and a new scholarship for black male law students.

The ambassador also met President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, viewed some rare Ethiopian manuscripts in John Rylands Library, and had lively discussions with academics and researchers in the Global Development Institute about the progress Ethiopia has made in tackling poverty and how we can work together to address the global challenge of inequalities.

]]>headlines,humanities,environment-education-development,topbannerThu, 15 Nov 2018 15:30:07 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_18-11-014-uom-dscf9292-pete-carr-408047.jpg?10000Student tuition scheme for disadvantaged pupils is a successhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/student-tuition-scheme/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/student-tuition-scheme/A scheme which trains students and recent graduates to give extra tuition to disadvantaged school pupils is highly effective at improving their progress, according to a new report.
]]>A scheme which trains students and recent graduates to give extra tuition to disadvantaged school pupils is highly effective at improving their progress, according to a new report.

It is usually only children from affluent families who benefit from private tuition, as the cost averages £27 per hour. The Tutor Trust is a unique charity which aims to tackle this inequality by supplying schools with university students, who act as academic tutors to small groups of disadvantaged pupils. The University of Manchester was involved from the Trust’s inception, and 80% of the charity’s tutors in Manchester are students from the university.

The University of Leeds has also been involved in its expansion, and both universities have supported the Trust through encouraging students to become tutors, and the provision of space on campus to undertake selection and training.

A randomised control trial conducted by the Education Endowment Foundation, which involved 105 primary schools and 1,290 pupils across Greater Manchester and Leeds, examined the impact of Maths tuition on Year 6 pupils. Selected children received 12 hours of extra tuition - the trial found that they made three months more progress than their fellow pupils.

In the 2017/18 academic year, a total of 300 tutors delivered over 17,000 sessions, serving over 3,000 young people at 154 schools in Greater Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool. Only 23% of primary school tutees were working at the expected level for their age at the start of the year – but by the end of tuition, that figure had risen to 77%. The report also demonstrates that the tuition has success in secondary schools, with 74% of Maths tutees and 73% of English tutees receiving a GCSE grade 4 or above.

Schools have reported that 82% of the pupils who receive tuition feel more confident in their abilities, and the tutors themselves also benefit from the satisfaction of helping young people succeed, as well as developing invaluable skills that will support them in their future careers.

"We have recently embarked on a joint studentship with the Trust led by our Manchester Institute of Education which will focus on the impact of tutoring on the transition from primary to secondary", Stephanie added.

“We are thrilled with this gold standard evidence of our impact, and it is a credit to our tutors and our staff team” said Nick Bent and Abigail Shapiro, co-founders of Tutor Trust. “We are transforming tuition so that the attainment and aspirations of the young people we serve can be transformed. As a charity, we are unique in Britain in offering a tuition service to schools that is high quality, high impact and yet low cost.”

“Our work with the Tutor Trust is an important part of our raising attainment activity,” said Louise Banahene MBE, Head of Education Engagement at The University of Leeds. “Not only does it provide targeted support to young people, with tangible results, it also provides an opportunity for our students to work in schools and the local community.”

]]>headlines,humanities,environment-education-developmentThu, 08 Nov 2018 13:43:20 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_tutrtrust-258397.jpg?10000Transformation of Greater Manchester can inspire China’s cities as they develophttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/transformation-of-greater-manchester/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/transformation-of-greater-manchester/Planning experts from across the world have heard that Greater Manchester’s transformation over the last twenty years can inspire cities in China, at a major international conference held at the Museum of Science and Industry.
]]>Planning experts from across the world have heard that Greater Manchester’s transformation over the last twenty years can inspire cities in China, at a major international conference held at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Around 680 million people - just under half of China’s 1.386 billion population - now live within an urban area. This extremely rapid urbanisation has seen almost 500 million people move to cities over the last 35 years, and the country now has more than 600 cities - many of which were just small towns a few decades ago.

This huge change is of great interest internationally, as China now consumes resources and emits waste on such a gigantic scale that it poses a threat to the earth’s sustainability. This means that academics and policymakers are looking closely at the country’s urbanisation, highlighting a multitude of challenges for sustainable development such as urban-rural disparity, high car dependency, environmental pollution and degradation.

The Chinese government has recently embarked on its New Urban Agenda, with the aim of making new development more sustainable, embracing an innovation-driven economy, people-centred urbanisation, and environmentally-conscious decision-making.

At the conference, delegates heard about Manchester’s recent transformation, its pioneering approaches to regional governance, and the need to balance economic growth with ensuring improvements in the quality of life of its residents.Attendees also heard how it has benefitted from an influx of younger residents into the city centre, and how the region continues to benefit from allocation of powers from central government.

Delegates were, in particular, impressed by Manchester’s success in integrating rail and tram services, as well as by ongoing schemes to improve the area’s blue-green infrastructure. They suggested that the importance of such schemes to the regeneration of town centres, as well as the reinvigoration of high streets and the boosting of urban tourism, were all examples of what other China and other countries could learn from Manchester.

Conference attendees were able to explore Greater Manchester’s cultural diversity and the effects of its ongoing urban renaissance and reinvigoration, with field trips being undertaken to places including Salford Quays and Manchester United’s stadium. They were impressed by the city’s track record of urban redevelopment, as it continues to assert itself as one of the UK’s pre-eminent globally focused cities.

China’s New Urban Agenda was organised by The University of Manchester’s Urban Institute. With over 100 individual papers being delivered, the major international conference brought together experts from around the world who share a common interest in striving for a more sustainable urban future.​

]]>headlines,humanities,environment-education-developmentTue, 06 Nov 2018 08:58:42 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_mediacituy-114129.jpg?10000Regeneration may cause isolation for older people, study findshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/regeneration-may-cause-isolation/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/regeneration-may-cause-isolation/A study by an academic from The University of Manchester has found that urban regeneration in poor neighbourhoods can actually backfire, and lead to older people feeling isolated.
]]>A study by an academic from The University of Manchester has found that urban regeneration in poor neighbourhoods can actually backfire, and lead to older people feeling isolated.

As cities regenerate, new homes, residents and facilities are built which can change an area dramatically. A new movement to create ‘age friendly cities’ is aiming to ensure that regeneration happens in a way which allows older people to actively participate in their communities, stay connected to the people that matter most to them, and remain living in their homes for as long as possible - known as ageing in place.

Social anthropologist Dr Camilla Lewis spent a year living in East Manchester, one of the most deprived areas in the UK, in order to understand how local regeneration is affecting the day-to-day lives of older residents. The study focused on women aged over 50 who had lived in the area for their entire lives.

She interviewed and observed residents in places including a community centre, a market cafe and their homes. She found that despite being close to the city centre and benefiting from millions of pounds of investment in their area, people tended to feel separated from the wealth and new identity of the rest of the city. The demolition and rebuilding of new houses had also resulted in a deep sense of uncertainty and isolation.

“Despite the ambitious plans of local government, the rebuilding of houses actually caused a huge upheaval to social ties, with families and neighbours being rehoused away from one another,” said Dr Lewis.

“Many people felt that, compared to the past, there was no longer a close-knit community, no one looked out for anyone anymore, or felt pride in their neighbourhood. They lamented the loss of industry in the area, describing in nostalgic terms how East Manchester used to support proud communities of workers who had a strong sense of local identity.”

Her study showed that in order to make sense of the changes taking place around them, older people share memories of the past with strong networks of support. Social settings are vital to these networks, however it was felt that lots of the places that had previously served as community hubs - such as markets, churches and pubs - had disappeared, meaning that people no longer had the opportunity to get to know their neighbours.

The research highlights the need to understand the needs and expectations of older people when developing age friendly cities, rather than assuming that one approach will satisfy all.

Dr Lewis will discuss the results of this research, and a new Economic and Social Research Council funded project on ‘Ageing in Place’, at an event as part of the 2018 ESRC Festival of Social Sciences where older people will be asked to reimagine the future for older people in Manchester. For more information, click here.

]]>headlines,humanities,environment-education-developmentFri, 02 Nov 2018 09:12:21 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_man-970350-960-720-364366.jpg?10000People would change their consumption habits to help the climate, study findshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/people-would-change-their-consumption-habits/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/people-would-change-their-consumption-habits/A new study has found that people would change their consumption habits to help the climate - even if this would have implications for their personal lives and shopping habits - and that this could play a significant role in helping the UK to reduce its carbon emissions.
]]>A new study has found that people would change their consumption habits to help the climate - even if this would have implications for their personal lives and shopping habits - and that this could play a significant role in helping the UK to reduce its carbon emissions.

Government projections currently show that the UK will significantly exceed future legally binding carbon reduction targets. To date, climate policy has focused on the efficiency of vehicles and buildings, but how products are made and consumed also has a huge impact on emissions. Strategies that aim to reduce demand for materials and products will be essential to limiting rising global temperatures.

Dr Kate Scott from The University of Manchester worked with Catherine Cherry and Nick Pidgeon from The University of Cardiff and John Barrett from the University of Leeds to combine a series of public workshops with the modelling of potential emissions savings.

They spoke to a wide range of people to explore their opinions on changes including using more sustainable packaging for products, sharing tools and other rarely-used products within communities, leasing products like washing machines instead of owning them, and getting electronic devices repaired rather than replacing them.

They found that people supported a shift towards resource efficiency, even if this impacted on their lives - but that this did not necessarily lead to them supporting specific strategies. For example, people were worried about using leasing and sharing schemes, as they feared they would need to return the goods they were using if they got into financial difficulties.

The researchers say that simply telling everyone to reduce their consumption is therefore unlikely to yield results - government and businesses will also need to play their part, and public engagement is essential to understand how to increase low material behaviours.

“By talking to people about how their everyday lives might change under these different futures, we can gain a better understanding of what kind of changes people want to see, as well as explore the reasons that lead to wider rejection of specific strategies.”

]]>headlines,humanities,environment-education-developmentThu, 01 Nov 2018 10:19:05 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_eqxma9dmm5bepb3sszjw-665755.jpg?10000Conversations are a walk in the park – communication is better outdoors, research findshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/conversations-are-a-walk-in-the-park/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/conversations-are-a-walk-in-the-park/New research has found that conversations are better in natural environments such as parks and gardens than indoors.
]]>New research has found that conversations are better in natural environments such as parks and gardens than indoors.

Researchers from The University of Manchester and Cardiff University recorded conversations between children and their parents while they explored a city park and an indoor education centre, and found that the conversations in the park were more responsive and connected compared to those recorded indoors.

The team focused on families with three- and four-year-olds, because at these ages most children have a lot to say, but coordinating with a conversational partner is sometimes challenging.

Dr Thea Cameron-Faulkner, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at The University of Manchester, and one of the study authors, said: “Our research demonstrates that natural environments can significantly enhance social interactions, in this case improving the quality of parent-child conversations.”

Professor Merideth Gattis, from Cardiff University’s School of Psychology, one of the study authors, added: “One of the most challenging aspects of conversations is listening and responding to what other people say. The results of our study suggest that one simple way for people to improve this process is to spend time outdoors in natural environments.

The findings are an important first step toward building a better understanding of how natural environments can influence communication and could be used to inform and improve a number of services including education, child welfare and urban design.

Future studies will explore the reliability of the findings, as well as probing which specific aspects of environments influence communication quality.

Sam Williams, Co-author of the Arup report Cities Alive: Designing for Urban Childhoods, who was not involved in the research, commented: “Positive and engaging parent-child communication is key to a child’s healthy development with lifelong benefits. This study, which is the first of its kind, demonstrates the importance of access to local, natural environments to enhance this relationship. Providing opportunities for daily contact with nature is a simple but powerful way that cities can support both children and their caregivers, with significant implications for how we plan, design and manage our public spaces.”

]]>headlines,humanities,arts-languages-culturesWed, 31 Oct 2018 09:45:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_whitworthpark-536322.jpg?10000Manchester expert joins national commission for countering extremismhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/national-commission-for-countering-extremism/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/national-commission-for-countering-extremism/Professor of Sociology Hilary Pilkington has joined the expert group of the independent national Commission for Countering Extremism, which advises the government on new policies to deal with extremism - including the need for any new powers.
]]>Professor of Sociology Hilary Pilkington has joined the expert group of the independent national Commission for Countering Extremism, which advises the government on new policies to deal with extremism - including the need for any new powers.

Hilary was part of the Greater Manchester Preventing Hateful Extremism and Promoting Social Cohesion Commission, and is Coordinator of the EU’s Dialogue about Radicalisation and Equality project, which is investigating young people’s encounters with and agents of radicalisation, how they receive and respond to those calls, and how they make choices about the paths they take.

The Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE) is a non-statutory expert committee of the Home Office which operates independently, at arm’s length from, government. It seeks to engage widely and openly across the public sector, communities, civil society, families and legal and academic experts about extremism in the UK.

The Commission has already visited towns and cities across England and Wales, met more than 300 experts and activists and held workshops with civil society groups, human rights and free speech defenders, academics and practitioners.

Communities have shared their concerns about extremism in person, and through a YouGov poll. The responses showed that 73% of people were worried about rising levels of extremism in the UK, and 78% felt more needed to be done about it.

In September, it launched a public consultation, seeking evidence from government and commission research into the Far Right and Islamist extremism, as part of plans for a wide-ranging study into all forms of extremism.

Due to be released in spring 2019, the study aims to improve understanding of extremism and its deep impact on individuals and wider communities.

It also hopes to bring together the evidence to build understanding, find consensus and strengthen the UK's response to extremism across society.

Two other people have also joined the Commission’s Expert Group - human rights activist Peter Tatchell, and Dr Emman El-Badawy from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

]]>headlines,social-science,humanitiesTue, 30 Oct 2018 12:30:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_english-defence-league-protest-in-newcastle.jpg?10000Rave On - people of Manchester invited to recall their clubbing memories https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/rave-on/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/rave-on/The final event of an 18-month project by researchers to gather the thoughts of the city’s ‘lapsed clubbers’ – those who were part of Manchester’s dance music scene between 1985 and 1995 – is being held, where members of the public will be able to submit their memories to a digital map.
]]>Although Manchester and its music are famous around the globe, little is known about the communities which helped to build that reputation. Popular culture has referenced the city’s rave culture in print, film and TV, but almost always from the perspective of well-known ‘expert insiders’.

Now, the final event of an 18-month project by researchers to gather the thoughts of the city’s ‘lapsed clubbers’ – those who were part of Manchester’s dance music scene between 1985 and 1995 – is being held, where members of the public will be able to submit their memories to a digital map.

On November 10th, ‘Rave On!’ will take over the Old Abbey Taphouse, where the public will be able to write text or record audio reminiscing about the music, fashion, clubs and people of the scene.

The event is part of the annual Festival of Social Science, which takes place from November 3rd-10th. The local version of this national festival is now in its fourth year - academics from The University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and University of Salford will be taking over the city’s museums, bars, theatres, classrooms and galleries to present the very latest in social science research.

This year, the programme features 36 events on a variety of themes including ageing, virtual reality, climate change, the changing nature of work, devolution - and Brexit, naturally.

The Lapsed Clubber project is spearheaded by Manchester Metropolitan University academic Dr Beate Peter, and hopes to build a better understanding of the places, people and events that made the city into a global music mecca. “We are all familiar with The Haçienda and terms like ‘Acid House’ and ‘Madchester’, but little is known about the people on the dancefloors as they had no platform to share their experiences at the time,” she said.

In addition to mapping out Manchester’s rave culture between 1985 and 1995, the event will feature a rave quiz, followed by the premiere of the Lapsed Clubber film, and a panel debate. DJ sets by Jay Wearden and Steve Dobson will include some of the tunes that soundtracked the rave scene in Greater Manchester.

Every event in the Festival of Social Science’s schedule is underpinned by high-quality social science research - much of it funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The organisers say that the challenges and opportunities facing the UK - whether that’s Greater Manchester devolution, Brexit or the perceived lack of trust in ‘experts’ – mean it is more vital than ever for researchers to make meaningful connections with ordinary people.

]]>headlines,arts,social-science,societyMon, 29 Oct 2018 10:30:40 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_rave-dancers.jpg?10000DNA sequencing is exacerbating social biases and inequalitieshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/dna-sequencing/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/dna-sequencing/At the cutting edge of modern science, DNA sequencing promises to transform many aspects of human life. It’s already playing a significant role in law enforcement, as well as medical and historical research. But there’s a growing inequality in its impacts and in the chances of your genetic data being recorded – whether that’s by choice, for research or medical benefit, or by compulsion by the state.

Britain’s home secretary, Sajid Javid, apologised to parliament on October 25 for his department’s compulsion of immigration applicants, including 51 relatives of British Army Gurkhas, into DNA testing to prove their identity. The revelations, first reported in June, were the latest indictment of the impacts of the government’s “hostile environment” immigration policies. In his statement, Javid said that 83 applications had been refused, including seven which had been refused purely on “suitability grounds”, because applicants had not submitted to mandatory genetic testing.

But the UK is not alone in employing this innovative technology to enforce its borders – Canada, France and Norway are also adopting or considering adoption of these techniques. Meanwhile, border forces under the Trump administration recently used compulsory DNA tests to reunite migrant families they had forcibly separated..

While in each individual case familial DNA testing would give some additional “proof” of relationship to investigators, across Western countries a system seems to be in creation where compulsion to DNA test becomes a prerequisite of citizenship for certain migrants. Yet it’s a piece of evidence that would not be required of non-migrants in any similar civil or criminal proceeding.

The inequalities in access to and use of DNA by the state do not end there, however.

DNA matching is a standard and valuable aspect of modern policing, proving essential in thousands of cases. One less publicised branch of genetic policing is familial DNA matching. This has been used since the late 2000s where crime scene DNA samples do not 100% match a person in the National DNA Database, but can be used to identify a close relative.

Built-in inequalities

While significantly aiding investigations, these systems have inadvertently created a genealogical bias in detection: if a relative of yours has been criminalised, you are more likely to be identified than if a relative of yours hasn’t. This bias is predicated on socioeconomic factors and likely to exacerbate existing inequalities and discrepancies in policing. And this is particularly the case when we consider which criminals are more likely to have been caught previously: the middle-class cocaine user or the inner-city gang member? The corporate fraudster or the shoplifter on the poverty line?

Police give reasons such as socioeconomic factors and the practicalities of policing to justify the large over-representation of young black men in their DNA database compared to other population groups,. Still, there are real implications for whole communities when everyone closely related to each young black man is also now detectable, whether guilty or not – while this is far rarer for members of other communities.

In Sweden, France, and the Netherlands in the past decade, authorities have been censured when it has been discovered that they have kept “family trees” and registration lists of Roma communities – and these are just those caught doing this. Imagine the power of combining name lists and family trees with familial DNA evidence and the way in which whole communities could be monitored and traced by a hostile state, particularly in an increasingly populist and anti-minority political climate.

White Western bias

As a recent letter of warning from a prominent geneticist to research bodies pointed out, current medical genetic databases, research projects and institutions are biased towards white Western populations. There has also been a huge boom in private medical genetic testing in recent years, provided on a pay-only basis, with the leading provider, 23andme, recently reaching five million users and signing a drug development deal with GlaxoSmithKline.

Sequencing your ancestry.Khairil Azhar Junos/Shutterstock

Global health inequalities are already heavily skewed towards affluent, developed nations. As the current trajectory of genetic medical research which we are frequently told is about to transform healthcare is disproportionately focusing on white Western populations, we are likely to see this revolutionary technology further distorting inequalities, rather than generating better health for all humanity.

DNA testing for leisure is also a booming global industry, with more than ten million people tested with the company Ancestry alone. You can even pay to get your dog DNA tested to trace its origins and create a DNA Pet Portrait for your living room. Leisure testing is a pay-up-front business with ongoing costs if you wish to continue using online tools to find genealogical matches and build your family tree. Most of the online genealogy boom has been confined to Western – particularly anglophone – nations. This has distinct knock-on effects on the effectiveness of researching if you are not of these backgrounds.

While genetic origins from certain areas of Europe can give very specific geographic results, large swaths of the globe are very poorly represented in these databases, making them a far blunter tool. Genealogy companies can potentially tell you what county of Ireland one of your ancestors came from but can’t be more specific than a whole sub-continent for parts of Africa and Asia.

The cost of genealogical genetic testing and currently limited drive among corporations to build up genetic profiles of underrepresented continents means that both use and effectiveness of DNA sequencing for leisure is highly socioeconomically, geographically and ethnically imbalanced.

So, in many cases, these phenomenal breakthroughs in deciphering the very code of life itself seem to be reinforcing and exaggerating existing power structures, rather than benefiting the entirety of humanity equally. Targeted and considered mitigation efforts from governments and corporations are essential if we are to redress the balance in the coming decades where DNA sequencing will play an ever more prominent role in society.

]]>arts,expert-comment,headlines,languages,history,arts-languages-cultures,humanities-local,history-salcFri, 26 Oct 2018 12:15:46 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_dnas.jpg?10000US sparks new development arms race with China – but can it win?https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/us-sparks-new-development-arms-race-with-china/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/us-sparks-new-development-arms-race-with-china/American lawmakers recently created the International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) to finance infrastructure projects in low-income countries. The IDFC’s primary aim is to counter China’s growing influence, and it signals a dramatic new chapter in the fragile relationship between the US and China.

Tensions between the two countries have been high, as they struggle over trade, intellectual property rights and military control of the South China Sea. They are now also racing to connect the world by financing large-scale infrastructure projects such as highways, railways and ports.

The IDFC enjoyed bipartisan support, and was rushed through Congress as a matter of urgency. It was initially part of the BUILD Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives. The Senate then incorporated it into the FAA Reauthorization Act and passed it by a margin of 93-6 (with one abstention). The US president, Donald Trump, signed the IDFC into law while Capitol Hill was gripped by the bitter feud over the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

The 2008 financial crisis destabilised the so-called Chimerica order of the global economy, which balanced China’s export-led growth with a period of overconsumption in the US. Following the financial crisis, the Chinese government countered slackening demand from the US by financing infrastructure projects in low-income countries.

Infrastructure-led connectivity

The BRI is consistent with a global trend to enhance infrastructure-led connectivity. This prioritises long-distance and cross-border connections and infrastructure to link resource extraction, agribusiness and manufacturing with global markets and supply chains.

Nevertheless, from a realpolitik perspective, whichever country funds connective infrastructure initiatives can benefit by determining how territories are integrated into the global economy. Control of overseas ports, airports, railways and roadways can enable a country to align parts of the global economy with their own.

This explains why the race to connect the world is not limited to the US and China. The European Union has launched an initiative to invest in infrastructure that enhances its connectivity with Asia. Similarly, Japan, Australia, the UK and others in the G20 are active in the Global Infrastructure Hub, which was created to encourage private investment in connective infrastructure around the world.

The US strikes back

The American IDFC differs from the EU and G20 initiatives because it signals that US policymakers intend to contain rather than compete with China. It has been granted an initial budget of US$60 billion to invest in infrastructure projects in low-income countries, and this is designed to “provide countries a robust alternative to state-directed investments by authoritarian governments”.

So how does it work? The IDFC is loosely modelled on the Chinese approach to infrastructure finance. Chinese development assistance is typically bilateral and prioritises long-term political objectives over profit. This explains why China funds infrastructure projects that institutional investors in the OECD deem too risky. The US is now taking on China by allowing the IDFC to operate in a similar fashion. Unencumbered by shareholder demands, the IDFC’s mandate is “to complement and be guided by overall United States foreign policy, development, and national security objectives”. In other words, it is meant to put politics before profit.

The question is whether this strategy really will contain China’s expanding sphere of influence.

Certainly the IDFC needs a significantly larger budget to threaten China’s growing influence. After all, China finances multiple infrastructure projects beyond the BRI. In a recent summit with African leaders in Beijing, for example, Xi Jinping committed to invest US$60 billion in the continent, independent of the BRI. Furthermore, China is the largest shareholder in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and enjoys influence in the New Development Bank – both of which also pursue objectives consistent with the BRI. Multilateral investment banks such as the World Bank have also already invested in infrastructure projects that complement the BRI.

Making growth sustainable and inclusive

Ultimately, then, the IDFC will be unable to limit China’s growing influence with a mere US$60 billion, and China’s sphere of influence will continue to expand regardless.

But the race to connect the world is significant because it will have tremendous impacts on emerging economies that suffer from inadequate infrastructure. Indeed, this scramble between the US and China will likely accelerate economic integration in places that have historically been isolated.

Both countries prioritise geopolitical objectives over developmental outcomes, so the challenge for recipient countries is to ensure such funding and initiatives foster sustainable, inclusive growth.

Chinese investment is required by Beijing to comply with local social and environmental laws, yet many low-income countries lack strong regulations. The IDFC, meanwhile, is required to “annually evaluate and report to the Board and Congress regarding compliance with environmental, social, labor, human rights, and transparency standards”. But it is unclear what standards the IDFC will embrace in any of these fields.

The quickening race between China and the US to connect the world does present opportunities for low-income countries held back by poor infrastructure. The question is whether the “beneficiaries” can ensure that the projects are sustainable and equitable in the long-run. If they can’t, much of the infrastructure will likely just further line American and Chinese pockets.

]]>arts,headlines,expert-comment,environment-education-developmentThu, 25 Oct 2018 09:49:07 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_file-20181024-71042-194xvum.jpg?10000Equality frees women to follow traditional gender choices – or does it?https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/equality-frees-women/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/equality-frees-women/If you want gender equality, get rich. Research shows that men and women tend to be more equal in more developed countries. You might expect that the more equal opportunities in these countries might reduce other differences between the genders, such as what kind of jobs people are more likely to have, or personality traits such as kindness or a tendency for risk-taking. But a new study published in Science argues the opposite, that greater equality actually widens these kind of gender differences.

Cleverly, the study doesn’t claim that gender preferences are culturally learnt or biologically driven. Instead, it simply describes them as “intrinsic” and says you can be agnostic about their origin. In avoiding the discussion about where these differences come from, the article simply treats gender preferences as a black box that economists and others shouldn’t open.

Yet while the study looked at data from all over the world to build its case, I believe it reaches the wrong conclusions simply by assuming that men and women have different preferences that are free to be expressed in more developed countries. Removing legal barriers to equal opportunity isn’t the same as removing the social pressures that help shape traditional beliefs about gender roles.

There are two ideas that could explain whether traditional gender roles and preferences are likely to increase or decrease as a country gets richer. The social role hypothesis says that gender roles defined by unequal opportunity instil differences in preferences. So when women have the same opportunities as men, these differences should disappear.

On the other hand, the resource hypothesis says that gender preferences aren’t created by gender roles. And once men and women have similar opportunities they are freer to express their “natural” inner differences.

What the study shows

Drawing on data from 80,000 people in 76 countries, the new research provides evidence to support the second hypothesis. In countries where economic growth had helped create more equal opportunities, men were more likely to take risks. Meanwhile, women were more likely to be trusting, kind and willing to postpone rewards to get more in the future. Because these results follow greater economic and social freedom, they supposedly show that these gender differences are intrinsic, and explain why men are more focused on their careers and women on their families.

The problem hidden in the logic of the study is that attitudes and preferences are not intrinsic. They are not characteristics we are born with, that we can simply add as a variable in an economic model correlating them with economic growth. We develop attitudes from an early age over the whole course of our lives, learning from everyone we interact with. This includes family members, teachers and other role models, as well as other children in our schools and later colleagues in our workplaces.

In this way, we learn that women should be caring and men successful, that girls should be altruistic and boys risk-taking. These gender stereotypes are then reinforced throughout our lives because society is structured to make women more likely to look after children and so tend to interact more with teachers and other mums. Men are more likely to spend more time on their careers and their social networks are more varied and offer more opportunities.

These differences result in what we call horizontal segregation, where women end up in so-called “pink collar” jobs because they are more likely to find out about vacancies from other women. When women do end up in male-dominated jobs, they have to face vertical segregation, making it almost impossible for them to reach leading roles. We see this in the well-documented lack of female leaders in many industries.

A counter-argument would be that these gender differences really are intrinsic because they depend on biological factors, such as the different levels of sex hormones men and women tend to have. There is now a solid stream of research that looks at how hormones such as testosterone and oestrogen may explain gender behaviour.

Evidence shows that hormones may well influence sexual identity, the likelihood of developing certain diseases, and male aggression (although results are controversial). But there is no evidence that this is directly related to gender preferences in risk-taking, patience, trust and reciprocity. Interestingly, some studies show that while hormones seem to suggest an influence on male behaviour, the same effect is not found in females.

Studies that have looked at these biological factors also stress that they don’t fully explain gender differences in behaviours and preferences, because these are reinforced in boysand girls by society. In other words, no biological or genetic study has concluded that nature is stronger than nurture.

How free are we really?

The researchers behind the new study explain their results by referring to the theory of post-materialism. This says that once material needs are satisfied, human beings are free to make their own decisions and express themselves however they want. In poorer countries, men and women are more equally involved in simply making enough money to get by so they aren’t free in this way. In rich countries, more resources supposedly provide more scope for expressing intrinsic gender preferences and behaviour.

What I think the study actually shows is that economic equality leaves men and women freer to express the gender differences that have been created in them by social pressures. This is the same conclusion recently reached by Paul Polman, chief executive officer of Unilever, when discussing the 2017 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap report (the same report used as a measure of gender equality in the new study).

If we really want to understand what drives gender inequality we should ask people who they think are the most caring and most successful people they know. Then we should count how many times women and men are named in these respective roles, by men and women respectively. They will show us how much traditional beliefs about gender roles are still in place, even more in supposedly rich and equal countries.

]]>society,headlines,sociology,social-science,humanitiesTue, 23 Oct 2018 15:25:04 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_gender.jpg?10000Do some people really want to get HIV?https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/do-some-people-really-want-to-get-hiv/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/do-some-people-really-want-to-get-hiv/Why would anybody want to get infected with HIV? That is what most people ask when they first hear about “bug chasing”. In fact, a number of gay men, at least online, appear to clamour for HIV. They are known as “bug chasers” because they are literally “chasing” a “bug” – HIV.

But do they really want it? To answer this question, I interviewed men in the UK, US, France and Australia. While they all considered themselves to be bug chasers, their experiences were very different: one 69-year-old man spent his life working for an HIV charity; another, younger, participant works as a porn performer. For some, bug chasing plays a secondary role within their sexuality; for others, it is all they can think about. Some access bug chasing websites to find hook-ups or masturbate; others just spend many hours online engaging with others.

Bug chasers largely fetishise the HIV virus. They come from a variety of backgrounds, generations, and countries. While one of the participants I spoke with has clear memories of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, another, in his early 30s, grew up at a time when HIV was no longer a death sentence.

It is also difficult to identify a single experience or motivation for bug chasing. Luke (the names throughout this article have been changed to protect the interviewees’ privacy), from Seattle, argues that HIV “became … a fear that I associated with sex that I liked”. A man from London in his late 60s, identifies HIV with the death of his friends in a way that drives him to desire infection, even if he is not sure why. And yet another argues that, “as a gay man, HIV had to be part of me, and not having it meant I was not yet complete”. Everyone is different.

Given that bug chasers communicate through the internet, researchers have focused on analysing bug chasing websites, establishing that bug chasers are a minority turning to the internet to find sexual partners.

Gallo, a 33-year-old man from California who maintains a semi-professional online presence as a porn performer, argues that the perceived anonymity that many sites foster creates “an environment where [bug chasers] can roleplay whatever they want to be … when you’re online, you have other people who are trying to … push their [mutual] barriers.”

This reveals how anonymity and mutual encouragement on these sites can create an environment where users’ statements shouldn’t always be taken at face value – they’re not necessarily indicators of offline behaviour. Indeed, this is something that most previous researchers have struggled to consider.

Fact or fantasy?

Journalist Richard Pendry titled his article on the subject “Bug chasing: fantasy or fact?” And it is a legitimate question. After all, fantasising about something is very different to pursuing it offline, in the “real world”.

For some, bug chasing is a reality. Scott, a 58-year-old bug chaser from Melbourne, says it is “very stimulating … sexy, intense”. Milo, a Frenchman in his late 20s, stopped taking PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) to engage in casual anonymous sex – “It was a real turn on not knowing what would happen,” he says.

Some of these men do become infected: Gallo, who chased HIV for several years, eventually became HIV positive in 2016. Others, however, are more reticent – and there can be a tension between their fantasies and their actual behaviours.

Mark, a Londoner in his 20s, has become increasingly interested in bug chasing, and engages in unprotected sex with HIV-positive partners. However, he normally feels remorseful the morning after and uses PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis). Another participant said he is aroused by the thought of being infected, and yet has enrolled on the PrEP Impact trial.

The use of PrEP and PEP reveals a contradiction between their fantasies and their realities. They are not entirely fantasists, as they engage in sex with a bug chasing intent, yet they are not entirely realistic about it either, for they take active steps to prevent HIV through PrEP and PEP.

There are also those for whom bug chasing is just a fantasy. Roy, an older man in the UK, maintains several fictional, younger, bug chaser profiles online through which he converses with other men across the world without revealing his real identity. When asked whether he would like to live the fictional lives of his “characters”, he replied: “No, it’s not real. [They] are mostly entertainment, I just have a wank at the end of it.” For Roy, bug chasing is purely a fantasy, with little potential to become a reality. In fact, one participant suggested that 70% of all bug chasers online were simply fantasising about it.

Whether bug chasing is ultimately fantasy or fact is relevant insofar as it allows researchers to determine whether bug chasing is a threat to public health. But it also allows us to explore the fantasies of bug chasing beyond its realities. In so doing, we can better comprehend the desires that fuel bug chasers, desires such as intimacy, connection, belonging. And this allows us to place those desires at the centre of sexual well-being, helping us to explain what role HIV plays in society today, and what it means, or feels like, to be a gay man in the 21st century.

]]>sociology,social-science,headlines,arts,expert-comment,humanitiesThu, 18 Oct 2018 16:11:09 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_hiv.jpg?10000Olympic athlete Tommie Smith speaks, 50 years after his ‘fist of defiance’ protesthttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/olympic-athlete-tommie-smith/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/olympic-athlete-tommie-smith/At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Tommie Smith stood on the medal podium alongside fellow athlete John Carlos, with their fists raised in an act of defiance which reverberated around the world. Now, 50 years on, Smith has spoken at The University of Manchester about the repercussions and legacy of his iconic gesture.
]]>At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Tommie Smith stood on the medal podium alongside fellow athlete John Carlos, with their fists raised in an act of defiance which reverberated around the world. Now, 50 years on, Smith has spoken at The University of Manchester about the repercussions and legacy of his iconic gesture.

Anger at the USA’s continuing failure to deliver social equality was laid bare to millions of viewers, who witnessed the protest during the first-ever satellite sports broadcast. Captured in photographer John Dominis's indelible portrait of that moment, Smith had just broken the world record for 200m.

Both men were vilified for their stand - they were suspended from the US team, and they received death threats. But neither man ever apologised for the action taken, and Smith remains defiant to this day.

More recently, the continuing impact of the image has been seen in the protests against the killing of Trayvon Martins, the spate of demonstrations against police actions and attitudes in Black communities, and in the wake of debates around ‘Bending of the Knee’ in the NFL, which was criticised by President Trump.

Smith spoke at The University of Manchester’s annual Arthur Lewis Lecture. The lecture was established in 2015 by the School of Social Sciences to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sir Arthur Lewis, the economist who became Britain's first black professor at Manchester in 1948 and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1979.

At the lecture, which was organised in conjunction with The Runnymede Trust and Voice4Change, a short documentary was shown about the event and its aftermath, which was followed by a discussion and audience Q&A session led by Michelle Moore, a leading voice in the UK on issues at the intersection of sport and social change.

“The U.S. Black freedom movement is a protracted and ongoing struggle for racial justice that has ebbed and flowed since the first Africans arrived in the Virginia Colony in 1619,” said Kerry Pimblott, Lecturer in International History at The University of Manchester. “Smith played an invaluable role in that longer tradition and his courage - epitomised by the actions he took at the Mexico Olympics in 1968 – represents a watershed moment.”

“At the height of the Black Power Movement, Smith joined a new generation of African American students, college athletes, and other youthful activists in calling for rights, respect, and representation. These struggles transformed the racial landscape in the United States and inspired millions around the globe. Such activism often came at great personal cost, and so today we are honouring Smith for his sacrifice as well as the legacy of racial justice activism he left in the shadow of his black-gloved fist.”

]]>headlines,arts,social-science,humanitiesTue, 16 Oct 2018 09:12:42 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_tommie-smith-1200x1753.jpg?10000Experts call for better language provision to help non-English speakers into workhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/experts-call-for-better-language-provision/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/experts-call-for-better-language-provision/Experts from The University of Manchester have called for better language provisions to help non-English speakers into the workplace, after their research found that language proficiency is the most common barrier to employment for newcomers to the city.
]]>Experts from The University of Manchester have called for better language provisions to help non-English speakers into the workplace, after their research found that language proficiency is the most common barrier to employment for newcomers to the city.

An estimated 1,000 people are on waiting lists to access ESOL (English as Second or Other Language) courses in Manchester, while providers are struggling to find funding to maintain classes.The University’s Multilingual Manchester research unit has worked with Manchester City Council to review its provisions for people coming to the region who do not speak English as their first language.

Interpreting and Translation Studies lecturer Dr Rebecca Tipton, Research Associate Dr Huw Vasey and a team of student assistants surveyed advanced learners of English to find out about their needs and aspirations, and to identify ways to improve provisions.

The team spoke to 340 learners - around a quarter of all those enrolled in Manchester City Council’s courses - who originated from 57 different countries, and most of whom have been in the UK for five years or less.

The researchers found that many of the people enrolled in ESOL classes are educated professionals who were employed before coming to the UK, but are now out of work. English language proficiency is cited as the most common barrier to employment. Many report that they have few opportunities outside the classroom to practice their English, and some have been on waiting lists for additional language classes for over a year.

The report found clear evidence that dependency on interpreters decreases as learners improve their English, but also that many advanced learners continue to draw on support from them when accessing services such as healthcare.

The researchers propose the creation of a ‘Digital Hub’, where different providers across the city could share information on classes and manage waiting lists. They also suggest that businesses should offer internships to help highly-skilled people to improve their English in a work setting, and emphasise the importance of coordinating formal ESOL provisions with conversation sessions that are offered by various initiatives across the city.

Multilingual Manchester operates a student volunteer scheme that supports English conversation sessions in a variety of outlets across the city. Since 2015, more than 150 students have helped new arrivals improve their English as part of the scheme.

]]>headlines,arts,languages,topbanner,arts-languages-cultures,humanities,linguistics,humanities-local,translation,languages-salcMon, 15 Oct 2018 13:30:16 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_esolclass.jpg?10000Greater Manchester universities to offer more mental health support to students https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/greater-manchester-universities-to-offer-more-mental-health-support-to-students/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/greater-manchester-universities-to-offer-more-mental-health-support-to-students/Greater Manchester will be the first place in the country to establish a dedicated centre to help support higher education students with mental health needs.
]]>Greater Manchester will be the first place in the country to establish a dedicated centre to help support higher education students with mental health needs thanks to a new partnership between the region’s four universities and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, the body that oversees the area’s £6bn devolved health and social care budget.

One in five 16-24 year olds experience depression or anxiety. The transition to university can be a tough time, with many young people living away from home, family and friends for the first time.

The new service will offer innovative and accessible treatment, looking at digital technology such as virtual clinics, to university students experiencing mental illness, for example eating disorders and severe depression.

Greater Manchester has one of the largest student populations in the country. The University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, Royal Northern College of Music, the University of Bolton and the University of Salford’s student body represents around 100,000 people.

The new service will transform mental health provision for university students in Greater Manchester by making sure that it’s easier to get referred, regardless of where someone studies or lives and that young people are supported with the transition to university. Students will also be able to keep the same GP throughout their student career with the roll-out of a Greater Manchester university-student GP passport.

Under the new system, wherever a student presents to the mental health system (NHS, third sector or at university), they would receive a standard assessment. Depending on the result of this, they would then proceed either to university services, or for more specialist intervention at a new centre.

This more integrated approach will also help to co-ordinate efforts to promote well-being and prevention, and share examples of successful practice. As services will focus specifically on students, planning will be able to take into account important demand factors such as exam times but the experience of the centre will also benefit staff.

The new centre will open in the academic year 2019-20. The plans were developed alongside the core partners and with the help of exsiting mental health and psychological services within the universities, charities and students’ unions. It will be jointly funded by all the partners.

Dr Sandeep Ranote, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist and children’s mental health lead for Greater Manchestersaid: “Prioritising student mental health is vital to ensuring that young people and those going back to study later in life get the very best out of university and thrive during their student careers.

“Greater Manchester has the largest university student population in Europe, with significantly increasing reports from our students of mental health difficulties. This can have a devastating impact on the student, their network, the staff supporting them and importantly the student’s future.

“It’s time to treat mental health with the same importance as physical health. Good emotional health is the foundation for future well-being. Developing a dedicated mental health service that provides support from “prevention to prescription” enables us to create the campuses of tomorrow.”

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester said: “Mental health is one of the top issues that students tell us about and we have invested significantly in services at The University Manchester and in this important new initiative.

“The next logical step is to share expertise and resources across the whole region, and create a model that will benefit thousands of people. I am very pleased that The University of Manchester will play an important role in this and I hope that it is an idea that can be used across the whole country.”

Professor Helen Marshall, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Salford, said: “We should never underestimate the welfare needs of our students, so we are delighted to invest in a more comprehensive service to support them.

“We don’t just want our people to be well-educated; we want them to be well.”

Professor George Holmes, President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Bolton, said that the mental health of students was of paramount importance.

Prof Holmes said: "In Bolton we have excellent support mechanisms already in place, as the welfare of our students is our number one priority.

"It is excellent news that Greater Manchester is at the forefront of addressing the issue of students' mental wellbeing and the University of Bolton is proud to be playing a significant part in the initiative."

Professor Malcolm Press, Vice-Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “Students are at the heart of everything we do at Manchester Metropolitan and ensuring their health and wellbeing is a priority. This new centre will play a vital role in addressing the growing issues of mental health problems among young people.

“I am delighted Manchester Metropolitan can be an important member of this partnership between the Greater Manchester universities and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership - and believe it will provide a model for others to follow.”

If you need help or someone you know acting differently such as seeming low, worried or stressed. You can call the University's Counselling Service on +44 (0)161 275 2864, Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm, or email counselling.service@manchester.ac.uk

Nightline is a confidential listening and information service run for students by students; contact Nightline on +44 (0)161 275 3983. Lines are open 8pm – 8am during term time.

]]>headlines,health,University-news,student-news,students,student,Student News,science-and-engineering,mental-health,topbanner,humanitiesWed, 10 Oct 2018 11:18:00 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_selfharmmentalhealth.jpg?10000Manchester academic wins award for communicating research to the public https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/manchester-researcher-wins-award/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/manchester-researcher-wins-award/Dr Joanne Catherine Jordan has won a leading award which recognises how she has successfully communicated the purpose, meaning and impact of her research to the public.
]]>Dr Joanne Catherine Jordan has won a leading award which recognises how she has successfully communicated the purpose, meaning and impact of her research to the public.

She was presented with the Elsevier and the US-UK Fulbright Commission Researchers' Choice Communication Award at the Early Career Researchers UK Awards, at a ceremony attended by over 75 senior figures from government, academia and industry.

Dr Jordan, an Honorary Research Fellow at The University of Manchester's Global Development Institute, has investigated the impact of climate change on the lives of low-income people in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Her project ‘The Lived Experience of Climate Change’ engaged residents of an informal settlement in the research findings, and built awareness and action on their everyday accounts of living with climate change through an interactive theatre performance.

Subsequent theatre performances, documentary films, educational programmes, and public events were then used to engage a much wider set of international and national audiences. Joanne has brought her work to over 235,000 people including study participants, policy makers, practitioners, academics, students and the general public.

Dr Jordan has won multiple awards for the project - it won an Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Research in Film Award, a University of Manchester Making a Difference Award, and it was also a finalist in a national public engagement competition run by the National Co-coordinating Centre for Public Engagement.

"Dr Jordan's project is fully immersive", said broadcaster Dr Adam Rutherford, lead judge and presenter of the awards. "The resulting work has the potential to influence other people, and hopefully policy makers. It's a great example of scientific engagement that reaches diverse publics and has a genuine impact on viewers."

Addressing global inequalities is one of The University of Manchester’s research beacons - examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest questions facing the planet. #ResearchBeacons

]]>headlines,arts,Research-Beacons,Global-Inequality,humanities,global-development-instituteTue, 09 Oct 2018 11:32:31 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_capture4.jpg?10000Independent inquiry into UK’s regional inequalities is launchedhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/inquiry-into-uks-regional-inequalities/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/inquiry-into-uks-regional-inequalities/The University of Manchester is part of a new research partnership supporting UK 2070, an independent Commission into the UK’s regional inequalities which has been launched at a reception in the House of Lords.
]]>The University of Manchester is part of a new research partnership supporting UK 2070, an independent Commission into the UK’s regional inequalities which has been launched at a reception in the House of Lords.

The Commission’s inquiry will examine the nature of inequalities across the regions and nations of the UK, explore the costs and consequences, identify underlying causes, and make recommendations for new policies to tackle the problems of poorer places, whilst supporting the sustainable growth of successful places.

The Commission’s membership includes academics from five universities and the USA’s Lincoln Institute for Land Policy (Cambridge, MA), as well representatives from the CBI, Core Cities, IPPR North, National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), the North West Business Leadership Team, West Midlands Combined Authority, and the consultancies AECOM and Barton Willmore.

They will be supported by a research partnership involving The University of Manchester, University College London, the University of Liverpool and the University of Cambridge.

“There will always be differences between places, but Britain has some of the most extreme regional disparities in the developed world - these impose great costs on society, and handicap our economic performance and productivity,” said former civil service head Lord Kerslake, who is chairing the inquiry. “It does not have to be like this – as many other countries demonstrate.”

“Regional inequality is not just about how to improve lagging behind regions, but also how to release pressure from places that lack development capacity,” said Cecilia Wong, Professor of Spatial Planning at Manchester Urban Institute. “There is a real need to examine the spatial relationships between different parts of the north and between London and the rest of the country. The gravity of spatially diverse problems in many places provides an imperative for strategic thinking.”

“We need strategies for places left behind as much as places with economic potential, in Britain and America alike,” said Armando Carbonell from the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy, which is also helping to fund the study. “Laissez faire and abandonment is just not an option - the social and political consequences are too damaging, and could put our social cohesion and democratic institutions at risk. We hope to learn much from this inquiry, which will be of relevance to both Britain and to the USA.”

“In part the problems are caused by historic factors, but we need to find out whether they are also shaped by government decisions which have not been thought through,” said Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council and Chair of Core Cities. “These may include concentrating resources for growth and development in congested places and generating demands for new infrastructure, whilst putting pressure on the environment.”

The Commission will carry out its work over the next 12 months, delivering a final report in November 2019. Alongside commissioned research and papers the Commission will launch a call for evidence, to be received by November 2018.

]]>headlines,arts,environment,environment-education-development,humanitiesTue, 09 Oct 2018 09:23:00 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_belfast-gettyimages-924020561.jpg?10000Manchester welcomes two new Fulbright US-UK exchange programme recipientshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/fulbright/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/fulbright/The University of Manchester has welcomed a scholar and a student from the USA, who have come to the UK as the recipients of Fulbright Programme awards.
]]>The University of Manchester has welcomed a scholar and a student from the USA, who have come to the UK as the recipients of Fulbright Programme awards.

Founded in 1948, the Fulbright Programme was the brainchild of US Senator J William Fulbright, who believed that nations would never again find reason to go to war if people had the opportunity to immerse themselves in each other’s cultures. His chosen vehicle was an academic exchange programme that would be implemented around the world.

The treaty between the US and the UK created one of the world’s first Fulbright programmes. In the early 1950s, the first UK Fulbrighters crossed the Atlantic, sailing into New York on the Queen Mary and the Mauritania. Since then, thousands of Americans and Brits have benefitted from the opportunity to study in each other’s countries, and the experience has impacted their work and careers long after returning home. Participants have gone on to be politicians and authors, business professionals, composers and Nobel laureates.

The programme is the only to offer scholarships for students and scholars both ways across the Atlantic, in any field and at any university. Over the decades, it has contributed to intercultural understanding and bi-national leadership and security, cementing the ‘special relationship’ between the US and the UK.

Cathleen Miller, Professor of Creative Nonfiction at San Jose State University, joins as the recipient of the Fulbright-University of Manchester Distinguished Chair Award. She has travelled the globe to write books telling the stories of people and places.

In her career she has interviewed heads of state on five continents, and her biography of UN leader Nafis Sadik is the result of ten years of work. She co-authored Desert Flower, the bestselling story of Somali nomad Waris Dirie, which has been translated into 55 languages and adapted as a feature film. She is also a Director of the prestigious Center for Literary Arts at SJSU, and is editor-in-chief of literary journal, Reed Magazine.

During her time at Manchester, Cathleen will be interviewing female immigrants who have travelled alone to the UK seeking a new home, and will also teach Creative Nonfiction.

Faye Zhang, who is studying for a Master's Degree in Visual Anthropology at Harvard University, joins as the recipient of the Fulbright-University of Manchester Postgraduate Award. Born in a steelworking town in China and raised in the American Midwest, she is trained as a nonfiction writer and comic artist. She has drawn for the Harvard Lampoon and written for the Harvard Advocate, among other activities. In 2017-2018, she was a Humanities Fellow at the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, as well as a fellow at the Smithsonian Folkways in Washington, D.C.

During her year in Manchester, Faye will use her research and creative skills to complete a project on Chinese healthcare under the guidance of the Visual Anthropology programme.

“I was drawn to the University of Manchester because of its worldwide reputation in anthropology, specifically in visual anthropology, a field which uses still and moving images alongside textual research,” said Faye. “Following the examples set by Manchester-trained anthropologists such as Anna Grimshaw, Gavin Searle, and others, I hope to make creative yet thoroughly researched works that illuminate our human world.”

Cathleen will be hosting a talk to discuss her work giving a voice to women around the world - and some of the curious experiences involved in getting those stories, like magical assistance and escaping from kidnappers – on Monday 10th December at the Centre for New Writing.

]]>headlines,arts,literature,arts-languages-cultures,humanitiesMon, 08 Oct 2018 10:00:00 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_fulbright.jpg?10000University’s new Creative Manchester project is officially launchedhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/creative-manchester-project-is-officially-launched/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/creative-manchester-project-is-officially-launched/The University of Manchester has officially launched its new Creative Manchester project, which is investing £3.3m to support its ambitious arts, cultural and creative industries strategy.
]]>The University of Manchester has officially launched its new Creative Manchester project, which is investing £3.3m to support its ambitious arts, cultural and creative industries strategy.

The creative industry sector is one of the fastest growing in the UK, which accounts for over 5% of the UK’s economy and employs 2 million people. Creative Manchester aims to position the University as a leading player in this sector at local, national and international level, and at the forefront of public conversations about the role of Arts and Humanities.

It builds on commitments made by the Government in the recent Industrial Strategy White Paper by providing an opportunity to develop exciting new courses such as Heritage Studies, which will attract the very best students with the brightest talent to the city. This complements the University’s wide range of existing undergraduate and postgraduate courses centred on the creative industries, including Art Gallery and Museum Studies, Arts Management, Creative Writing, Drama, Music, Film Studies and Screenwriting.

The project will develop placement opportunities and employability initiatives, using the University’s access to some of the best collections and cultural minds in the world, as well as taking creative ideas, skills and resources out into local communities to create new ideas, innovations, skills and relationships. This will bring social and economic benefits to the city and beyond, as well as creating opportunities for our students to gain real-world experience with some of the best creative organisations.

The project was launched at an event at Whitworth Hall, where leading individuals from the city’s arts sector, Manchester City Council and other stakeholders gathered to hear speeches, view artistic performances from Klezmer Ensemble and Manchester Vox, and listen to poetry and music written by current students. Attendees also heard that the University is set to begin a partnership with HOME, Manchester’s centre for international contemporary art, theatre and film, in January 2019.

The University hosts an array of cultural institutes including the Whitworth and Manchester Museum, the John Rylands Research Institute, the Centre for New Writing, the Institute for Cultural Practices, Multilingual Manchester and Digital Humanities (bringing together digital experts from across the University).

As well as leading the successful recent bid for Manchester to become a UNESCO City of Literature, the University plays a key role in Manchester Literature Festival, Manchester Histories Festival and Manchester International Festival (MIF). As part of the MIF link, the University recently appointed its artistic director and CEO John McGrath as an Honorary Professor of Performance and Society.

John’s appointment is one of several new creative and cultural academic posts being established as part of Creative Manchester, which will support the new courses and the University’s ambitious research agenda. Another of these is former Manchester student and Artistic Director of the Royal Theatre Court Vicky Featherstone, who has been appointed as an Honorary Professor in Theatre and New Writing.

"Creative Manchester is about ensuring that we continue to offer the most exemplary teaching and leadership," said Jeanette Winterson CBE, Professor of New Writing. "Employers look to Manchester when seeking the best talent - we’re one of the most targeted universities in the UK by the nation’s top graduate employers. We know that creativity in industry is integral to its success, and that the economy is supported and enhanced by these creative minds."

"We have established Creative Manchester as a platform to bring educators, civic leaders and employers together in a dynamic union to collaborate and importantly, help the next generation of innovators reach their true potential," said Alessandro Schiesaro, Head of the University’s School of Arts, Languages and Cultures. "There will new and pioneering research that has a direct impact on the creative sector; we will make innovative changes to our curriculum, particularly where it can benefit employability; and we wish to become a much more active partner in the cultural sector, in Manchester and beyond."

"Through partnerships and engagement, each of these things will make a measurable difference to our graduates, to the creative economy and to Greater Manchester, one of the most innovative, creative and diverse cities in the world."

]]>headlines,arts,events,arts-languages-cultures,humanities,creative-manchesterThu, 04 Oct 2018 14:31:19 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_dsc-5930-original.jpg?10000Who really identified the Skripal poisoner, and why it mattershttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/skripal-poisoner/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/skripal-poisoner/Where exactly does our news come from? And are those who unearth it getting fair credit? As media consumers, these are questions we should be asking on a regular basis.

Take the case of “Colonel Chepiga”. The BBC reported on September 27 that “Ruslan Boshirov”, one of the suspects accused by the UK government of poisoning Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury is, apparently, a highly-decorated colonel of Russia’s foreign military intelligence agency named Anatoliy Chepiga. According to BBC News, the revelation was the result of the work of a British online citizen investigative journalistic site, Bellingcat – and the BBC interviewed its founder, Eliot Higgins.

Nothing was said in the BBC report, however, about the fact that the actual investigative work had been largely conducted by Bellingcat’s Russian collaborator – online citizen investigative journalism site, The Insider. For it was, in fact, The Insider’s founder, Roman Dobrokhotov, and another Russian, Moscow-based journalist, Sergei Kanev, who conducted hours of painstaking research of open online Russian-language sources to identify Boshirov-Chepiga.

Credit where it’s due

In the context of the fast-paced news production cycles in which journalists of all media outlets operate under ever increasing pressure, the BBC could be forgiven for taking shortcuts to get the story out. However, the intensifying neoliberal economic logic that is pressuring all media outlets to maximise returns and prioritise sensationalist scoops that consolidate and extend their audience base, is encouraging journalists to adopt practices that are less easy to excuse.

Two days later, on September 29, BBC Radio 4 News also featured a report by the BBC Moscow correspondent, Sarah Rainsford. It took the Chepiga story further and said that the BBC had interviewed a woman in the village of Beryozovka in the far east of Russia where Colonel Chepiga grew up. This woman confirmed that it is indeed Chepiga who appears in now widely publicised photographs of “Ruslan Boshirov”.

The same day, an accompanying report featuring short quotes from the interview with the woman appeared on the BBC News website. The BBC reports were worded in such a way that they suggested that the new revelation from Chepiga’s home village was the result of the BBC’s own investigative journalism. It did repeat the BBC’s original attribution of the Boshirov-Chepiga connection to Bellingcat, but again failed to acknowledge that the work of identification was, in fact, originally carried out by Russian journalists.

In fact, as soon as The Insider and Bellingcat disclosed Chepiga’s identity on September 26, a journalist from the Russian newspaper Kommersant went to Beryozovka to question local residents. Despite the pressure put on Russian journalists by the Kremlin, Kommersant continues occasionally to publish results of its team’s high quality investigative journalism. According to the Kommersant article, which was published on September 27, one of the two women in Beryozovka who agreed to answer their questions and to comment on “Boshirov’s” photograph identified Chepiga in it, while the second woman doubted the resemblance.

We can’t dispute that the BBC went to Beryozovka, but they were not the first to do so. Furthermore, the BBC reports of September 29 contained no additional information beyond what had been published by Kommersant two days earlier. It also is no doubt that the BBC journalist had read Kommersant’s article, as Rainsford tweeted it as soon as it appeared on September 27.

At the very least, it would have been good practice on the part of the BBC to cite the original source from which it obtained the necessary information about the Beryozovka residents who were willing to talk, particularly given that it appears that the BBC’s own trip to the village added no new information to Kommersant’s story.

Additionally, the BBC Radio 4 report failed to fully detail the facts gathered by Kommersant. Significantly, the reference to the second woman who did not feel confident to identify Boshirov as Chepiga was absent from the BBC’s report.

The consequences

We all know that journalists are under pressure to claim sensational scoops, so why does the odd shortcut or partial acknowledgement matter?

The Kremlin has created a hostile environment for journalists in Russia.Shutterstock

The first reason is pragmatic. There are very high stakes for Russia should any absolute and unequivocal confirmation of its responsibility for the use of a military-grade nerve agent on British soil be found. This means that the Moscow-based Russian journalists investigating the true identities of those accused of the Salisbury poisoning do so at significant personal risk. They should at the very least get credit.

Indeed, the leading Russian oppositional newspaper, Novaya gazeta, revealed that, once the Skripal affair began unfolding, Putin signed a new decree on keeping secret any information on those who work as “freelance agents” for the intelligence services. According to the newspaper, a broad interpretation of this new decree allows the Russian Federal Security Service to investigate any Russian journalist who uncovers information that contradicts the government’s line on the Skripal case. The Russian-language website of Russia’s state-funded international broadcaster, RT, has already reported a claim that Dobrokhotov is involved in “criminal activities” aimed against the Russian state.

Since Soviet times, international fame offered some level of (limited) protection to public figures whom the state perceived to be acting against its interests. In fact, explicit guidelines to this effect were issued by the Soviet authorities in 1927 when Stalin’s systematic assault on members of the Russian intelligentsia began.

The guidelines suggested acting with caution in “repressing” internationally renowned figures. This situation continues to the present day. Therefore, in their desire to claim a sensational scoop as their own, British journalists are not merely obscuring the central role of Russian journalists in the discovery, they are unwittingly making it easier for the Russian state to punish Russian journalists for their bravery.

The second much broader issue relates to the current crisis of political legitimacy in established democracies, including the UK. This includes growing public mistrust in the mainstream media. Ordinary citizens’ easy access to multiple information sources has made them far more aware than before of how journalists, even in the most reputable media outlets, use information selectively and opaquely to promote a desired narrative.

So, while RT’s coverage of the Skripal affair has provoked outrage and ridicule, the BBC itself has been far from an example of “best practice”. Unfortunately, in today’s highly-politicised international media environment, the BBC is not the only – nor the biggest – loser in this process.

]]>arts,expert-comment,Politics,headlines,arts-languages-cultures,humanitiesThu, 04 Oct 2018 11:48:34 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_file-20181002-85611-1pjrb0n.jpg?10000Book reveals exquisite and detailed map of Victorian Manchester https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/detailed-map-of-victorian-manchester/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/detailed-map-of-victorian-manchester/Researchers from The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University have launched a fascinating new book which uses maps and plans to outline the history of one the world's most iconic cities.
]]>Researchers from The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University have launched a fascinating new book which uses maps and plans to outline the history of one the world's most iconic cities.

Manchester – Mapping the City features more than 100 maps, land surveys, engineering plans and birds-eye views, which chart the dramatic growth and transformation of Manchester as it grew rich on its cotton trade from the late 18th century, experienced periods of boom and bust through the Victorian period, and began its post-industrial transformation in the 20th century.

The canal and railway revolutions, the Peterloo Massacre, cholera epidemics, Trafford Park industrial estate, the Ship Canal, Belle Vue pleasure gardens, Wythenshawe garden city, Coronation Street, football grounds, the 1996 IRA bomb and MediaCity are just some of the subjects documented and explored in large, full-colour maps and plans, many of which are published for the first time.

Mapping the City also features perhaps the most exquisite and certainly one of the most detailed maps of Manchester ever created. Adshead’s Twenty four illustrated maps of the Township of Manchester was a flawed masterpiece, and because of the publication of the Ordnance Survey’s large-scale plan of the city, it was a commercial and practical failure when published in 1851.

Today it is a rare artefact - few original copies survive – and an important record of Victorian Manchester. It maps the city at an incredible scale of 80 inches to the mile, providing unprecedented detail of its streets, public and commercial buildings and transport links. It is also one of best records of the range of manufacturing industry and the profusion of pubs in different parts of the city in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Many of the other maps in the book come from the working records of Manchester City Council, and deeds and documents relating to land ownership. Countless thousands of plans, charts and diagrams have been generated over the decades concerning the management of the city and the remaking of its streets and buildings. Some examples in the book include original 1750s deeds held in Chetham’s Library relating to land in the Shudehill area, and a technical planning map from 1960 showing where parking meters were to be introduced in the city centre.

“There is an astonishingly rich array of maps and plans of Manchester in local libraries and archives, many of which have never been reproduced before,” said Brian Robson, Emeritus Professor at The University of Manchester, who has conducted influential research on city planning and regeneration, and has a long-term fascination with urban maps. “I am sure that readers of the book will find the variety and detail of the maps a fascinating way of looking at the history of the city and its region.”

“My favourite map is the bird’s eye view of Textile Manchester, as it illustrates how important commerce was by end of the 19th Century,” said co-author Martin Dodge, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at The University of Manchester, who has done research into the cartography of Manchester and its wider region, and whose work includes a widely-praised 2009 exhibition of Manchester maps at John Rylands Library.

“The city was making most of its money from the selling and marketing of cotton products - by then, the manufacturing had moved out to surrounding towns like Oldham and Bury. The map shows how many large cotton warehouses there were, and that these often elaborate show rooms occupied key locations at the heart of the city."

]]>headlines,history,geography,artsWed, 03 Oct 2018 11:07:38 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_mancmap.jpg?10000Young people are the loneliest age group, according to new surveyhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/loneliest-age-group/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/loneliest-age-group/A nationwide survey led by The University of Manchester and BBC Radio 4 has found that 16-24 year olds experience loneliness more often and more intensely than any other age group.
]]>A nationwide survey led by The University of Manchester and BBC Radio 4 has found that 16-24 year olds experience loneliness more often and more intensely than any other age group.

Over 55,000 people took part in the BBC Loneliness Survey, which explored attitudes and personal experiences of the issue, making it the biggest survey of its kind. It was developed by academics at The University of Manchester, Brunel University London, and the University of Exeter, and supported by a grant from The Wellcome Collection .

40% of the survey's respondents aged 16-24 reported feeling lonely often or very often, while only 29% of people aged 65-74 and 27% of people aged over 75 said the same. Other findings included:

- People who feel lonely have more ‘online only’ Facebook friends
- People said that dating is the least helpful solution suggested by others
- 41% of people think loneliness can sometimes be a positive experience
- Only a third believe that loneliness is about being on your own

The University of Manchester's Professor of Psychology Pamela Qualter, who led the study, says: "The response to the BBC Loneliness Experiment has been significant. People have provided valuable insights into when and how loneliness is experienced, how it relates to age, being alone, caring responsibilities, employability, and discrimination."

Claudia Hammond, presenter of Radio 4’s All in the Mind says: "The topic of loneliness is now receiving a great deal of attention and political prominence as demonstrated by its inclusion in Tracey Crouch’s ministerial portfolio and the recommendations from The Jo Cox Loneliness Commission. We were staggered by the huge numbers of people taking part in our survey."

"This research shows we need to take loneliness seriously in all age groups. We know that most loneliness is temporary, but we need to find ways to prevent it from becoming chronic."

BBC Radio 4's All in the Mind, to be broadcast on Monday 1 October 2018 at 8pm, will delve further into the results of the survey. Then, from Tuesday 2 October, a new series titled The Anatomy of Loneliness will break down the research into three programmes, and a series of podcasts titled How You Can Feel Less Lonely will feature Claudia Hammond and Professor Pamela Qualter discussing the top solutions to loneliness which emerged from the survey.

]]>headlines,arts,sociology,social-science,topbanner,mental-health,mental health,humanitiesMon, 01 Oct 2018 08:00:00 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_outdoor-texting-teenager-boy-blue-sitting-1999275.jpg?10000Academic calls for more BAME representation in Northern Powerhousehttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/bame-northern-powerhouse/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/bame-northern-powerhouse/An academic from The University of Manchester attended the Labour conference to call for BAME women to have greater representation in the Northern Powerhouse.
]]>An academic from The University of Manchester attended the Labour conference to call for BAME women to have greater representation in the Northern Powerhouse.

Dr Sarah-Marie Hall, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at The University of Manchester, also has called for the government to step up its efforts to step up its pledge to help those who are underprivileged and underrepresented in society.

Dr Hall was attending the annual Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, where she worked with Policy@Manchester to discuss her research with Shadow Cabinet Ministers and a range of Labour MPs.

One of the Labour MPs that Dr Hall spoke to was Joe McMahon, Shadow Minister for Local Government and Devolution. Speaking about devolution, he commented:

Dr Sarah Marie-Hall explored her research with Manchester’s Youth Engagement Charity, RECLAIM, and reiterated that the government can ensure young people are at the centre of discussions of devolution and that it can achieve equitable social change and inter-generational justice.

Another MP who agreed with Dr Hall’s calls for change was Lisa Nandy, MP for Wigan, who agreed that something different was needed in order to benefit those who currently feel isolated in their communities and underrepresented in positions caused by austerity measures. She was speaking at an event about community businesses in the UK.

As well as being a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, Dr Hall is also a member of the Morgan Centre for Research into Everyday Lives and Manchester Urban Institute.

]]>headlines,arts,Politics,environment-education-development,humanitiesThu, 27 Sep 2018 13:39:48 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_sarah-marie-hall-1.jpg?10000Diplomats reveal concerns over UK’s waning influence on UN Security Councilhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/diplomats-concerns-over-uks-waning-influence-un-security-council/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/diplomats-concerns-over-uks-waning-influence-un-security-council/At the UN General Assembly in 2017 Theresa May described the “special responsibilities” that the UK holds within the United Nations. She was referring to the permanent seat that the UK has on the UN Security Council, as well as its capacity to contribute to international peace and security.
]]>Dr Jess Gifkins, University of Manchester; Jason Ralph, University of Leeds, and Samuel Jarvis, University of Southampton

At the UN General Assembly in 2017 Theresa May described the “special responsibilities” that the UK holds within the United Nations. She was referring to the permanent seat that the UK has on the UN Security Council, as well as its capacity to contribute to international peace and security.

Brexit does not put the UK’s permanent seat at risk, at least in the short to medium term. However, the UK’s international standing is potentially at risk. That has implications for its ability to influence negotiations.

We conducted a series of interviews with current and former diplomats to try to find out more about what might be in store.

We asked them what makes a state influential within the UN and heard that strong diplomatic skills and having a vocal and well-connected permanent representative (the head of a nation’s diplomatic mission at the UN) are essential. Influential countries also draft resolutions, which gives them considerable power to frame options, and have clear and consistent goals. These are areas where the UK typically excels but they are not self-sustaining and require constant attention, especially in periods of uncertainty.

Signs of the times

In late 2017, the UK lost a vote to have a British judge on the International Court of Justice for the first time. Our interviews confirm the concern that this came down to a failure of UK diplomacy. We were told by interviewees that the UK “shouldn’t have lost”, raising questions about its future ability to win votes.

While the loss of a British ICJ judge was not directly attributed to Brexit, the episode is spoken about in a more general sense. The feeling is that the UK is distracted and its diplomacy lacks clarity. The British parliament’s view is that UK diplomacy is significantly under-resourced and the government should consider increasing what it allocates to the UN.

Of course, the UK accrues influence at the Security Council simply by being a permanent member with the authority to veto resolutions. But the UK (like France) is reluctant to wield this kind of influence because it risks raising broader questions of why the UK, as opposed to states with better claims to future great power status, should have the veto. Threats to the British economy due to Brexit compound the sense of relative decline.

Up until now, the EU and its member states have looked to the UK and France to help formulate their positions at the UN. That gave the UK influence, even if it did not always guarantee support for UK positions. The risk of the UK being isolated now increases as the European bloc will look to its only permanent member, France, to lead on its interests. Likewise, non-European states looked to the UK as the permanent member that acted as a diplomatic “gateway” to Europe. France now takes that position.

What is ‘Global Britain’?

There has long been a tendency to see British influence as being linked to its role in Europe, the special relationship with the US and the Commonwealth. This suggests that by distancing itself from Europe the UK will need to move closer to the US or the Commonwealth to maintain support for its role and standing on the international stage.

But it’s not necessarily the case that the UK will adopt substantively different positions to the Europeans in the future. And with US foreign policy changing under Donald Trump, it’s not necessarily the case that the UK would want to rely on the special relationship. Prime minister Theresa May’s recent trip to Africa suggests, however, that there will be a renewed emphasis on Commonwealth links after Brexit.

Indeed, the much-used phrase “Global Britain” raises the intriguing possibility that the UK could act as some kind of UN representative for the “rest of world”, or at least a gateway for states who feel excluded by the French, Chinese, Russian and US grip on the Security Council.

Unfortunately, there is little faith that Global Britain will deliver. Our interviews confirm the sense that it is “an empty slogan”, designed for “a domestic audience” rather than impressing international partners. As one New York-based diplomat put it: “I don’t see it and it’s not discussed here.”

The danger is that the quest to become “Global Britain” is largely centred around economic interests and comes at the expense of the UK’s wider responsibilities as a member of the UN Security Council. If that is the case, then the legitimacy of its claim to a permanent seat will come under increased pressure.

]]>expert-comment,Politics,UK-politics,international-politics,humanities,headlines,politics-sossWed, 26 Sep 2018 13:41:05 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_united-nations-1184119-1920-2.jpg?10000Ice age discovery may reveal early migration route of first Americanshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/ice-age-discovery/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/ice-age-discovery/A group of researchers have discovered the retreat of an ancient ice sheet from the western coast of Canada occurred earlier than previously thought.
]]>A group of researchers have discovered the retreat of an ancient ice sheet from the western coast of Canada occurred earlier than previously thought.

Dr Christopher Darvill from The University of Manchester’s Department of Geography is the lead author on a new paper published in Geophysical Research Letters.

Darvill and his co-authors studied the Cordilleran Ice Sheet in North America - which once covered an area the size of the Greenland Ice Sheet - to improve our understanding of past climate and ancient human migration.

The retreat of the ice sheet controlled when routes were opened that allowed ancient people to migrate south into the Americas. Which route was used – and when – remains a highly contentious topic amongst archaeologists and geologists.

Darvill and colleagues from universities in Canada and the USA used a helicopter to reach remote island locations along the Canadian coast. The team chipped rock samples from the tops of boulders and bedrock, before taking them back to a lab to investigate further.

They found sites close to the present coastline were exposed at least 17,700 years ago, suggesting islands along the coastline were ice-free at this time. Some higher locations were exposed even earlier. This is important, because it suggests an early route along the coastline of Canada might have been viable well before an alternative, inland route.

The findings should help archaeologists target investigations tracing the migration pathways of early people into the Americas.

"Our work changes the model of when this ice sheet retreated in the past, improving our understanding of past climate change over western North America," said Darvill. "The new findings add an exciting piece to the puzzle surrounding the colonisation of the continent."

]]>headlines,arts,geography,topbannerWed, 26 Sep 2018 09:00:00 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_iceage-2.jpg?10000Egypt is building a new capital city from scratch – here’s how to avoid inequality and segregationhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/egypt-is-building-a-new-capital-city/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/egypt-is-building-a-new-capital-city/Egypt is the latest country to build a new capital city from scratch, with ambitions to move parliament away from Cairo as early as summer 2019. With nearly 24m people living in Greater Metropolitan Cairo, the current Egyptian capital suffers from severe congestion and overcrowding – problems which the government claims the new capital will resolve.

Egypt joins more than 30 countries or regional states, which have relocated their seats of power to new cities designed from scratch: Brazil, Australia, Kazakhstan and Nigeria are among the most famous examples. Built on a site located 45 kilometres east of Greater Cairo, the city will feature a new presidential palace, a new parliament, a central bank and business district, an airport and a massive theme park, alongside housing for 6.5m people.

Egypt’s new capital, marked in yellow.Google Earth.

But while new political capitals can be symbols of national identity and tools for development, the successes and failures of these mega projects have always been topics of much debate. Perhaps the most famous example is Brasília: designed to embody the progressive, egalitarian ideals of 1950s Brazil, today the city is marred by urban segregation and inequality.

Brasília: a split city

The metropolitan area of Brasília has two distinctive areas: the Pilot Plan – the well known urban design by Brazilian architect Lúcio Costa – and the satellite cities, which have replaced the many informal settlements built by the construction workers who worked on the Pilot Plan.

Less than 10% of Brasília’s population lives in the Pilot Plan. The area was carefully planned to host the federal government, its civil servants and the intellectual elites. Costa dreamed of creating a just city, where the different socioeconomic groups of Brazilian society would be represented and share equal access to the city.

The plan failed to live up to Costa’s vision. Poorer families were forced to move out from the Pilot Plan as early as the late 1950s. The government set forth relocation plans, using environmental, health and even construction issues as technical justifications to locate new satellite cities further away from the Pilot Plan, while showing little regard for those affected.

For example, residents of the Amaury settlement made their homes on the site for the planned artificial Lake Paranoá – in the knowledge that they would one day need to move. But rather than being relocated by the government in a fair and organised way, residents were forced to flee their homes with only a few days warning, as the lake began to fill. To this day, kitchen utensils and other household objects can be observed among the ruins under the lake – evidence of the rushed escape of residents.

Amaury favela, with the Congress and the Alvorada Presidential Palace in the background.Paulo Manhaes

The lack of access to basic public infrastructure and the spatial segregation – imposed first by the relocation programmes, and later driven by the private housing and job markets – were and still are the main drivers of inequality in the city.

History repeated

Egypt’s as yet unnamed new capital is intended to have a range of different land uses. Phase one is focusing on the government district and residential areas, with a large supply of public facilities and green and transport infrastructure. Although the plans include affordable housing, average prices are beyond the reach of an average public worker.

The attractive character of the developments in the new capital will make housing developments near the new city increasingly unaffordable. The government has a policy in force to control the price of land every six months. So far, the price of land has only increased. This approach is not an effective way of ensuring that housing in the new capital remains affordable for Egypt’s lower income citizens. There’s a real risk that the new city will replicate the historical trend of spatial segregation, which can still be observed in Cairo today.

As a result, low and middle-income families will search for housing on the peripheries of the new capital, leading to the development of poorly planned, poorly connected settlements, which will only reinforce urban inequality.

A different design

The excitement of a brand new capital and its image as a clean, organised, smart and sustainable city must not overshadow the need for a balanced, diverse and fair community.

The planners and authorities involved in the new Egyptian capital should look to Brasília: there, it is evident that policies to provide affordable housing and access to jobs and opportunities within the new capital could have avoided the relocation of the poorer in the peripheral satellite cities.

If it’s to succeed, Egypt’s new capital must stick to the principles of an inclusive city, where all citizens can come together and share the city and its opportunities. This was the most important design principle for Costa – but without meaningful policies to support low income residents, it could not endure in the Brasília he so beautifully created.

]]>headlines,humanities,geography,Global-Inequality,Research-Beacons,expert-commentTue, 25 Sep 2018 15:16:20 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_file-20180924-85761-3jxy1a.jpg?10000A relationship breakdown also damages friendships, new research findshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/relationship-breakdown/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/relationship-breakdown/A relationship breakdown can also cause the unexpected and traumatic loss of friends, new research has shown.
]]>A relationship breakdown can also cause the unexpected and traumatic loss of friends, new research has shown.

Failing to nurture friendships while part of a couple means their support is often not forthcoming when the romantic relationship ends, leading the newly single person to feel doubly isolated and betrayed, according to research by The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, and published in the journal Families, Relationships and Societies.

This deeply-felt emotional trauma challenges the assumption that friendship ties are more easily disposed of and less tightly felt than romantic ones.

Dr Gaëlle Aeby, Honorary Research Fellow at the Morgan Centre for Research into Everyday Lives at The University of Manchester, worked with Sociologist Dr Jenny van Hooff from Manchester Metropolitan University to analyse internet message board posts made by users who had broken up with their partners.

The results demonstrate how the privileged position of the romantic couple within social networks can have negative – and unexpected – repercussions when a relationship ends.

The research also found that despite failing to maintain strong friendship networks throughout the life of a relationship, people did still expect to rely on ‘their’ friends in times of crisis.

When friends then failed to meet these lofty expectations, it was commonly seen as a deeply felt betrayal – particularly if they took their ex-partner’s side in the break-up. Those who did support them are described as “real” and “true” friends.

One message board user wrote: “Friends who do not contact you or who are wishing to remain friends with both ex-partners are not true friends. Yes, relationships end, but as the person having been dumped, I could not imagine trying to remain friends with anyone who still considers my ex as a friend.”

​Newly-single people also found it hard to reintegrate into their usual social circles – usually dominated by romantic couples – with single women particularly feeling on the wrong side of social norms, and excluded from existing friendship groups which were dominated by couples.

One user wrote: “It is not possible to really be friends with married people in the same way you can with single people…as I am single, I have leprosy in married people’s perspective.”

The research, funded by the Swiss National Science Federation, is part of a larger study led by Dr Aeby investigating the recomposition of personal networks following relationship breakdown.